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

Chip Taylor, the songwriter behind the Troggs’ rock hit “Wild Thing” and actor Angelina Jolie’s uncle, has died.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 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

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

A year after Thomas’ death, when Julia was 15, she and her uncle Bernard sailed to New York and geared themselves for a fight for Thomas’ property.

From Slate • Mar. 18, 2026

“It’s just, I live with my aunt Lisa and my uncle Morris.”

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Related Words

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