uncle

noun

un·​cle ˈəŋ-kəl 

1

a

: the brother of one's father or mother

b

: the husband of one's aunt or uncle

2

: one who helps, advises, or encourages

3

—used as a cry of surrender

was forced to cry uncle

4

capitalized : uncle sam

Examples of uncle in a Sentence

I have three uncles and two aunts.

My Uncle David is visiting next week.

Recent Examples on the Web

Her cousins questioned whether an uncle would live to see his house rebuilt. —Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2025

Harry's uncle, Charles Spencer, praised him for his determination to hold the media accountable. —Simon Perry, People.com, 24 Jan. 2025

His uncle, Gene, coached at Portland High for many years, his brother, Luke, has won four state championships at East Catholic in Manchester. —Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 23 Jan. 2025

Related Articles Last year, Elie Weill, 42, took over as president and chief executive officer from his father, Bernard, and uncle, Jean-Pierre, and spearheaded a reboot to start attracting a younger, more fashionable demographic. —Miles Socha, WWD, 21 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin avunculus mother's brother; akin to Old English ēam uncle, Welsh ewythr, Latin avus grandfather

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing uncle

• and Bob's your uncle
• Dutch uncle
• great-uncle
• say uncle
• uncle-in-law

Kids Definition

uncle

noun

un·​cle ˈəŋ-kəl 

1

: the brother of one's father or mother

2

: the husband of one's aunt or uncle