uncle
/ˈʌŋ.kl̩/noun, interjection, verb
uncle is spelled U-N-C-L-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,288th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, uncle means “The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of uncle is uncles.
How many letters and syllables are in uncle?
| Letters | 5: U-N-C-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 28 times per million words; the 3,288th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is uncle?
Uncle appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,288th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce uncle?
- /ˈʌŋ.kl̩/
Uncle has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-uncle.wav, En-us-uncle.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of uncle
- uncles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- uncling participle, present
- uncled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does uncle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The brother or brother-in-law of one’s parent.
- 2
The male cousin of one’s parent.
- 3
Used as a fictive kinship title for a close male friend of one's parent or parents.
- 4
Used as a title for the male companion to one's (usually unmarried) parent.
- 5
A source of advice, encouragement, or help.
- 6
UKdatedinformalA pawnbroker.
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 watch
- 7
An affectionate term for a man of an older generation than oneself, especially a friend of one's parents, by means of fictive kin.
- 8
archaicslangAn older African-American male.
interjection
- 1
UScolloquialA cry used to indicate surrender.
verb
- 1
colloquialTo address somebody by the term uncle.
- 2
colloquialTo act like, or as, an uncle.
noun
- 1
radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter U.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate uncle?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of uncle: unc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Uncle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense brother (or brother-in-law) of someone’s parent:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does uncle come from?
From Middle English uncle, borrowed from Anglo-Norman uncle and Old French oncle, from Vulgar Latin *aunclum, from Latin avunculus (“maternal uncle”, literally “little grandfather”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂euh₂-n-tlo- (“little grandfather”), a dialectal diminutive of *h₂éwh₂ō (“grandfather, adult male relative other than one’s father”) (whence also Latin avus (“grandfather”)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).