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

But fortunately his maternal aunt and uncle were able to take him in. —Martine Paris, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025

There’s hope that her uncle, Cora’s brother Harold (Paul Giamatti), who’s due to visit from America, will bring some good news on that front, in the form of an inheritance from his and Cora’s mother, who has recently died. —Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 12 Sep. 2025

In the complicated, thorny, offensive, manipulative, sometimes hilarious, sometimes uncomfortable video interview, which evokes the feeling of an uncle sitting down with his hardheaded nephew, Thug is reeling and full of so much anxiety that his legs are shaking. —Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 11 Sep. 2025

In 2023, the actress shared that her son picked up an interest in investing and finance, inspired by her late partner and her uncle. —Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 11 Sep. 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