Uncle Sam

noun

1. a personification of the government or people of the U.S.: represented as a tall, lean man with white chin whiskers, wearing a blue tailcoat, red-and-white-striped trousers, and a top hat with a band of stars.

Uncle Sam

noun

1. a personification of the government of the United States

Uncle Sam

1. A figure who stands for the government of the United States and for the United States itself. Uncle Sam — whose initials are the abbreviation of United States — is portrayed as an old man with a gray goatee who sports a top hat and Stars and Stripes clothing. During World War I and World War II, posters of Uncle Sam exhorted young men to join the armed forces. (Compare John Bull.)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Uncle Sam¹

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15; extension of the initials U.S.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Uncle Sam¹

C19: apparently a humorous interpretation of the letters stamped on army supply boxes during the War of 1812: US