uncle

American  

[uhng-kuhl] / ˈʌŋ kəl /

noun

uncles plural

1. a brother of one's father or mother.

2. an aunt's husband.

3. a familiar title or term of address for any elderly man.

4. Slang. a pawnbroker.

5. (initial capital letter) Uncle Sam.

6. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter U.

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idioms

1. say / cry uncle, to concede defeat.

   They ganged up on him in the schoolyard and made him say uncle.

uncle British  

/ ˈʌŋkəl /

noun

1. a brother of one's father or mother

2. the husband of one's aunt

3. a term of address sometimes used by children for a male friend of their parents

4. slang a pawnbroker

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uncle More Idioms  

1. see cry uncle; Dutch uncle.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• uncleship
  noun
• uncleless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• uncles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of uncle

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French uncle, Old French oncle, from Latin avunculus “mother's brother,” equivalent to av(us) “mother's father” + -unculus suffix extracted from diminutives of n-stems ( see homunculus)

Explanation

Your uncle is your parent's brother, or the man who marries one of your parent's siblings. Your favorite uncle might teach you to play chess or take you to amusement parks. Usually, an uncle is a relative — the brother of your mother, for example, or your dad's step-brother. It's also common in many cultures to have honorary uncles who are close family friends. From your uncle's perspective, you are either his niece or nephew. Colloquially, when you say or cry uncle, you're admitting defeat: "I'll let go of your arm when you say uncle!"

Example Sentences

Thanawat Gaweenuntavong, the youngest uncle at 59, started his restaurant in 1985 with pots of the original stock.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026

Jaafar Jackson, the son of Jermaine Jackson, received particular praise for the portrayal of his uncle.

From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026

The 13-year-old survived the twin tremors of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 on Wednesday that killed her mother and her uncle, who shielded her body from the building that crumbled around them.

From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026

But you could argue most of the money was effectively stolen from the uncle rather than the taxpayer.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026

You know, I think I agree with his uncle on that.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Related Words

• aunt
• cousin
• father
• folk
• mother
• niece
• sibling