uncle

noun

un·​cle ˈəŋ-kəl How to pronounce uncle (audio)
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 Golden Gloves ‘gives kids more to do’ Christina LaRosa, 44, left a law career in Chicago six years ago to sign on as executive director of Golden Gloves and in-house counsel for the pizza restaurant company her grandfather created and her uncle Mike and father Mark now run. The Enquirer, 25 Mar. 2024 My contentious uncle, my father’s oldest brother, caused a stir. Pat Kapowich, The Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2024 Murad’s uncle, Mohammad al-Qatawi, 43, was killed in an Israeli drone strike here in January. Sufian Taha, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024 Sonya and her uncle Vanya function as the managers of the estate, where Vanya’s feminist mother, Mama Voinitski (Houdyshell), a nanny named Marina (Katigbak), and a guitar-plucking family friend (Hadary)—the aforementioned Waffles—also live. Adrienne Miller, Vogue, 21 Mar. 2024 Quique’s uncle was a rumrunner during Prohibition, or so the story goes, storing caches of liquor in caves. Carina Del Valle Schorske, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024 Mary is also the author of 2020’s bestselling, tell-all book Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, which details her uncle Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency, and includes details about his relationship with Fred Jr. and their father. Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 19 Mar. 2024 Two others, Pedro Curiel Diego and Celso Diego, were her uncles. Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Jian now has to uncover her uncle’s hidden past and figure out why so many people are desperate to gain access to her house and the extensive arsenal hidden inside. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'uncle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of uncle was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near uncle

Cite this Entry

“Uncle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/uncle. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

uncle

noun
un·​cle ˈəŋ-kəl How to pronounce uncle (audio)
1
: the brother of one's father or mother
2
: the husband of one's aunt

More from Merriam-Webster on uncle

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