Uncle Sam

American  

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.

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Uncle Sam British  

noun

1. a personification of the government of the United States

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Uncle Sam Cultural  

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.)

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Etymology

Origin of Uncle Sam

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam needs inflation, not just economic growth, to escape today’s debt crisis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

After contributing to the system for decades — and with no way of knowing how long you’ll live in retirement — many people naturally want to get as much as they can from Uncle Sam.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

Uncle Sam will take his required slice of the pie, regardless.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

Uncle Sam is slated to fork over more money than ever to help ease American farmers’ economic woes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

If Uncle Sam could pair off people, so could she.

From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin