aunt

American  

[ant, ahnt] / ænt, ɑnt /

noun

• aunts
  plural

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.

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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

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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

• auntlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• aunts
  plural

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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”

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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

See Examples For:

aunt aunts

Silver-Fajardo is majoring in neuropsychology, wrote her aunt, who added that she is “fascinated by the human brain” and “hopes to pursue work involving brain research, psychopharmacology, and behavioral health.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

Schayes recalled that when his mother told an aunt he intended to play professionally, the aunt questioned whether basketball was a suitable career for a “nice Jewish boy.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

And there was also additional praise for William's aunt, the Princess Royal Anne, who has supported the MND community for many years.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

‘I have no children’: My aunt gave me $50,000 for a down payment.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026

I held up the page with a drawing of the Lighthouse at Alexandria, but my aunt barely glanced at it.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

She was raised in a huge extended family — she has 32 aunts and uncles — and remembers a house that was almost constantly full.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

Largely absent from Mr. Kolker’s story until the end, they were shielded from the burden of illness by their healthy parents and generous aunts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

It did not make sense to me that only children had aunts, uncles, and cousins.

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026

There is no social contract requiring aunts and uncles to divide their estates equally among their nieces and nephews, but unequal inheritances can still pack an unintentional emotional punch.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

The spring turned to summer, and instead of spinning and weaving and knitting by fires, my aunts did their work by open windows, waiting for a breeze to come in.

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

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Related Words

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

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