First Known Use: 1922
Dictionary
1Uncle Tom
noun \-ˈtäm\
: a black person who is eager to win the approval of white people and willing to cooperate with them
Full Definition of UNCLE TOM
1
: a black who is overeager to win the approval of whites (as by obsequious behavior or uncritical acceptance of white values and goals)
2
: a member of a low-status group who is overly subservient to or cooperative with authority <the worst floor managers and supervisors by far are women … Some of them are regular Uncle Toms — Jane Fonda>
— Uncle Tom·ism \-ˈtä-ˌmi-zəm\ noun
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Origin of UNCLE TOM
Uncle Tom, pious and faithful black slave in Uncle Tom's Cabin (1851–52) by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Rhymes with UNCLE TOM
2Uncle Tom
verb
Uncle TommedUncle Tom·ming
Definition of UNCLE TOM
intransitive verb
: to behave like an Uncle Tom
First Known Use of UNCLE TOM
1947
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