aunt
Americannoun
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aunts
plural
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the sister of one's father or mother.
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the wife of one's uncle.
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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.)
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Slang. an aging gay man.
noun
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a sister of one's father or mother
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the wife of one's uncle
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a term of address used by children for any woman, esp for a friend of the parents
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Anna has instead been able to see how bad it’s gotten: Her aunt is so certain of the medbeds’ imminent arrival that she won’t seek medical help for a broken arm.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Cole also played the aunt of Martin Clunes's titular character in the ITV medical drama Doc Martin.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Isaiah’s sister and aunt testified that the defendants purposely kept Isaiah out of public view because they feared what might happen if someone discovered his condition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Linda's family said she was a beloved daughter, sister, aunt and friend who brought so much love and joy to those who knew her.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
“Well, she rooms and boards with Miz Cooper, and when Miz Cooper rung the doctor, everybody picked up. My ma did. You can bet your aunt Maud did.”
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Their small apartment filled quickly with my father’s siblings—my aunts and uncles—and their children, my cousins.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
We have rituals there—paying respects to aging aunts and uncles, attending the home church, visiting Steve’s mom and little sister in the cemetery, buying pie at the Amish store.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
The children met their aunts, uncles and cousins.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
In the original film, Jet and Fran are the witchy, eccentric aunts who took in their nieces after their parents died.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
My dad was born four years later, followed by my two aunts.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
