ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Uncle

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˈʌŋ.kl̩/ · Part of speech noun

Quick meaning: Uncle is a noun meaning The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.

Meaning

The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.

More Meanings

  1. The male cousin of one’s parent.
  2. (endearing) Used as a fictive kinship title for a close male friend of one's parent or parents.
  3. (euphemistic) Used as a title for the male companion to one's (usually unmarried) parent.
  4. (figuratively) A source of advice, encouragement, or help.
  5. (British, informal, dated) A pawnbroker.
  6. (Southern US, slang, archaic) An older African-American male.
  7. (especially in the Southern US, parts of UK and South Asia) An affectionate term for a man of an older generation than oneself, especially a friend of one's parents, by means of fictive kin.

Example Sentences

Betelgeuse Five, where he both fathered and uncled Ford
Plain old uncle as he [Socrates] was, with his great ears, — an immense talker.
And it was while all were passionately intent upon the pleasing and snake-like progress of their uncle that a young girl in furs, ascending the stairs two at a time, peeped perfunctorily into the nursery as she passed the hallway—and halted amazed.
December 1843, William Makepeace Thackeray, "Grant in Paris" (review), in Fraser's Magazine A chain hangs out of the pocket of his velvet waistcoat , by which we may conclude that he has a watch , though we have known many gents whose watches were at their uncle's (as the fashionable term for the pawnbroker goes)

Word Forms

Synonyms for uncle

Depending on context, synonyms include eam, eme, nuncle, uncleji, uncley, unclie.

Antonyms for uncle

Common opposites include aunt, niece, nephew, aunty, auntie.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include grandpa, dad, cousin, aunt, unc, mister.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.