Uncle Tom


nounDisparaging and Offensive.
  1. a Black person, especially a man, considered by other Black people to be subservient to or to curry favor with white people.

  2. a person who exhibits overly deferential behavior.

Origin of Uncle Tom

1
An Americanism first recorded in 1920–25; so called after the leading character in Uncle Tom's Cabin

Other words from Uncle Tom

  • Uncle Tomish, adjective

Words Nearby Uncle Tom

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How to use Uncle Tom in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Uncle Tom

Uncle Tom

noun
  1. informal, derogatory a Black person whose behaviour towards White people is regarded as obsequious and servile

Origin of Uncle Tom

1
C20: after the slave who is the main character of H.B. Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)

Derived forms of Uncle Tom

  • Uncle Tomism, noun

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