aunt

[ ant, ahnt ]

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

/ 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. my aunt! or my sainted aunt!
   an exclamation of surprise or amazement

Pronunciation Note

The usual vowel of aunt in the United States is the [a] of rant except in New England and eastern Virginia, where it is commonly the “New England broad a, ” a vowel similar to French [a] and having a quality between the [a] of hat and the [ah] of car. The vowel [ah] itself is also used. In New England and eastern Virginia [ah] or the [a] -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 [a] pronunciation of aunt was brought to America before British English developed the [ah] in such words as aunt, dance, and laugh. In American English, [ah] is most common in the areas that maintained the closest cultural ties with England after the [ah] pronunciation developed there in these words.

Other Words From

• aunt·like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of aunt¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of aunt¹

C13: from Old French ante, from Latin amita a father's sister

Example Sentences

Corea, whose nickname evolved from an aunt who called him “Cheeky,” began to study the piano at age 4.

From Washington Post

My aunt is insisting that I wear a tuxedo, which, to me, is a very odd request.

From Washington Post

When he was talking about his uncle Gus in the barbecue, his aunt Bunny falling down the steps, his mom with the shoe.

From Ozy

As StVil did as a child, Gabrielle leaves her family behind to live with her uncle, aunt and cousins.

From Washington Post

Her aunt, a nurse in western New York, just had her first appointment canceled when her county ran out of doses.

From Washington Post

Sure, your cubicle mate, neighbor, and aunt all own a Fitbit or JawBone fitness tracker.

From The Daily Beast

Melchior is the forerunner of the aunt who always gave me socks.

From The Daily Beast

And there, the sand castle builder and tag player who loved her aunt more than science would be buried.

From The Daily Beast

Another aunt recalled something Laylah had said to her when they went trick-or-treating on Halloween just a few days before.

From The Daily Beast

When Juana was 8, her father abandoned the family and the girl moved to Mexico City to live with her aunt.

From The Daily Beast

You see, I'd always thought of him as the boy whom Great-aunt Lucia described having seen.

From Project Gutenberg

I don't care, it ain't nice, and I wonder aunt brought us to such a place.

From Project Gutenberg

The landlady had related the tragic history of the dead mother and the invalid aunt.

From Project Gutenberg

One old aunt in particular visited him twice a year, and stayed six months each time.

From Project Gutenberg

Aunt Ri was looking forward to the rest with great anticipation; she was heartily tired of being on the move.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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