Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

uncle sam

/ˌʌŋkəl ˈsæm/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.23 in modern English

Syllables
Un-cle Sam
IPA
/ˌʌŋkəl ˈsæm/
12
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A personification of the United States federal government or (rare) citizens.

Colloquial

Example Sentences

Etymology

From uncle + Sam (diminutive of the male name Samuel), probably based on the initialism U.S. of the United States. While folk etymology suggests that the term was named after Samuel Wilson (1766–1854), a meat packer from Troy, New York, who supplied the United States Army with canned meat during the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom, the Oxford English Dictionary notes there is no evidence that this is the case.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˌʌŋkəl ˈsæm/
  • British English: /ˌʌŋkl̩ ˈsæm/

Usage

Phrases

Uncle Scam Uncle Sham Uncle Shmuel Uncle Sucker John Bull Johnny Canuck Uncle Joe Uncle Sugar

Frequently Paired Words

John Bull Johnny Canuck Uncle Joe Uncle Sugar

Rhymes With

am damn sam ma'am islam vietnam graham exam ram dam jam ham

Questions

How do you pronounce uncle sam?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌʌŋkəl ˈsæm/.
What does uncle sam mean?
A personification of the United States federal government or (rare) citizens.
Where does uncle sam come from?
From uncle + Sam (diminutive of the male name Samuel), probably based on the initialism U.S. of the United States. While folk etymology suggests that the term was named after Samuel Wilson (1766–1854), a meat packer from Troy, New York, who supplied the United States Army with canned meat during the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom, the Oxford English Dictionary notes there is no evidence that this is the case.

How to pronounce uncle sam

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “uncle sam”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌʌŋkəl ˈsæm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “uncle sam”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “uncle sam” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.