cry uncle

cry un·cle

C c

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [krahy uhng-kuh l]
- /kraɪ ˈʌŋ kəl/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [krahy uhng-kuh l]
- /kraɪ ˈʌŋ kəl/

Definitions of cry uncle words

noun cry uncle a brother of one's father or mother. 1
noun cry uncle an aunt's husband. 1
noun cry uncle a familiar title or term of address for any elderly man. 1
noun cry uncle Slang. a pawnbroker. 1
noun cry uncle (initial capital letter) Informal. Uncle Sam. 1
noun cry uncle a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter U. 1

See all 8 definitions of cry uncle

Information block about the term

Origin of cry uncle

First appearance:

before 1250

One of the 11% oldest English words

1250-1300; Middle English < Anglo-French uncle, Old French oncle < Latin avunculus mother's brother, equivalent to av(us) mother's father + -unculus suffix extracted from diminutives of n-stems (see homunculus)

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Cry uncle

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Cry uncle

cry uncle popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 95% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

cry uncle usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for cry uncle

verb cry uncle

break — When an object breaks or when you break it, it suddenly separates into two or more pieces, often because it has been hit or dropped.
surrender — to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress: to surrender the fort to the enemy; to surrender the stolen goods to the police.
cave in — If something such as a roof or a ceiling caves in, it collapses inwards.
give up — the quality or state of being resilient; springiness.
give way — manner, mode, or fashion: a new way of looking at a matter; to reply in a polite way.

All 6 Synonyms of cry uncle