uncles

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of uncle.

   Two of his uncles run a small bakery downtown.

   At the funeral, her uncles carried the casket together.

   Note

   The plural reaches well beyond the family tree. Uncles can be a parent's brothers, brothers-in-law or male cousins. They can also be the family friends a child calls Uncle out of affection or, as a euphemism, a parent's male companions. In dated British slang, uncles were pawnbrokers. The same spelling also serves the verb's present-tense form, so she uncles everyone calls for the verb reading.

2. 2
   verbcolloquial

   Third-person singular simple present of uncle.

   Note

   The verb takes this -s form after he, she, it or a singular noun, and it belongs to colloquial speech. It works two ways. With an object, it means calling someone Uncle (she uncles every visitor). Without one, it means playing an uncle's part (he uncles cheerfully at reunions). Both uses grow from the noun's habit of serving as a friendly title for men outside the family.

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