1. Home
2. Idioms
3. an Uncle Tom

an Uncle Tom

---

---

an Uncle Tom

A derisive term for a black person who is submissive or servile to white people. The phrase refers to the titular faithful black servant in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. He was once a passionate activist, but he's become an Uncle Tom.

See also: tom, uncle

an Uncle Tom

a black person who is too eager to please white people

Usage notes: This phrase is from the book Uncle Tom's Cabin by H.B. Stowe, in which the main person in the story is a black slave. (= someone who is legally owned by another person)

She was seen by other blacks in the neighborhood as an Uncle Tom for not complaining about police harassment.

See also: tom, uncle