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

His father and uncles were in the cattle business, but it was soon apparent that young Larry, who was slight and frail, had no future in ranching.

From The Wall Street Journal

As a result, she has taken my inheritance, my older sister’s inheritance and my uncle’s inheritance.

From MarketWatch

His love of motorbikes began when his uncle looked after him during his dad's illness.

From BBC

His family moved in with his grandmother, squeezing into a cramped apartment full of aunts, uncles and cousins.

From BBC

Court records show the firm represented him in 2021 after, he says, he slipped in a trail of mop water at a hotel during a trip to visit his uncle.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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