uncle

American  

[uhng-kuhl] / ˈʌŋ kəl /

noun

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

• uncleless adjective
• uncleship noun

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 ( homunculus )

Example Sentences

And yet, Sina says, his uncle seems to be "afraid of dying" in the war and appears to have been trying to improve relations with some family members, including his own mother, Sina's grandmother.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

Simon recalled his uncle saying, “You can join, but I’m not really sure what you’re going to do.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

It’s an uncle, daddy, a sister, brother, kids everywhere.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

In a leaked phone conversation, Paetongtarn referred to former Cambodian leader Hun Sun as "uncle" and called a Thai military commander her "opponent", triggering public and political outrage.

From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026

He is standing on the courthouse steps, flanked by his aunt and his uncle, trying so very hard to be brave.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Related Words

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