aunt

American  

[ant, ahnt] / ænt, ɑnt /

noun

1. the sister of one's father or mother.

2. the wife of one's uncle.

3. Chiefly New England and South Midland U.S. (used as a term of respectful address to an older woman who is not related to the speaker.)

4. Slang. an aging gay man.

---

aunt British  

/ ɑːnt /

noun

1. a sister of one's father or mother

2. the wife of one's uncle

3. a term of address used by children for any woman, esp for a friend of the parents

4. an exclamation of surprise or amazement

---

Pronunciation

The usual vowel of aunt in the United States is the of rant except in New England and eastern Virginia, where it is commonly the “New England broad a, ” a vowel similar to French and having a quality between the of hat and the of car. The vowel itself is also used. In New England and eastern Virginia or the -like sound occur in aunt in the speech of all social groups, even where a “broad a ” is not used in words like dance and laugh. Elsewhere, the “broader” a is chiefly an educated pronunciation, fostered by the schools with only partial success (“Your relative isn't an insect, is she?”), and is sometimes regarded as an affectation. Aunt with the vowel of paint is chiefly South Midland United States and is limited to folk speech. The pronunciation of aunt was brought to America before British English developed the in such words as aunt, dance, and laugh. In American English, is most common in the areas that maintained the closest cultural ties with England after the pronunciation developed there in these words.

Other Word Forms

• auntlike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of aunt

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English aunte, from Anglo-French, equivalent to Old French ante, from Latin amita “father's sister,” old feminine past participle of amāre “to love,” i.e., “beloved”

Explanation

If you have an aunt, she would be your dad's sister or your mom's sister, or the woman who's married to your parent's sibling. Your uncle is a brother to your mom or dad. Maybe your favorite aunt, Beatrice, sends you a birthday card stuffed with money each year. First used around the 13th century, the noun aunt comes from the Latin word amita, meaning "paternal aunt." The woman who's your aunt is usually older than you are and is also the mother of your cousins. So you may remember your uncle bringing his wife Genevieve — who is also your aunt — and their children Margot and Charlie — your cousins — over for Thanksgiving dinner.

Example Sentences

What exactly Aunt Lydia is doing by handing Daisy into Agnes’ care is not made clear but she is obviously doing something.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Set years after the original drama, the show returns Ann Dowd to the role of Aunt Lydia, who runs a prep school for young women in Gilead.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

"Did you think Aunt Gladys would end up here at the Oscars?" she told Variety before the gala.

From Barron's • Mar. 15, 2026

The “Weapons” actor scored in the supporting actress category Sunday for her performance as the unhinged Aunt Gladys in the Zach Cregger-directed horror film.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2026

But down on the farm on our holidays one summer—the summer of 1938 it was—Mutti and Papi, Uncle Manfred and Aunt Lotti, got into a long and heated argument.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Related Words

• cousin
• father
• folk
• mother
• niece
• sibling
• uncle