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

And her grandmother, father and uncle worked as clerks. —Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2025

School bullies begin to circle, paranoia builds, and more chaos arrives in the shape of Alpha’s uncle (a hollow-eyed, harrowing Tahar Rahim), an addict who is among the infected. —Radhika Seth, Vogue, 23 May 2025

Once in a while, Austin Cusack will look at the picture of Andrew’s 1992 state championship baseball team in the school hallway and see his uncle, Billy, in the photo. —Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2025

Our parents went, some of our aunts and uncles volunteered out there. —Steve Baltin, Forbes.com, 21 May 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

Rhymes for uncle

• carbuncle
• peduncle
• siphuncle

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