great-aunt
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of great-aunt
First recorded in 1650–60
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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.
Maybe you have looked at the clouds and imagined a sailboat, a seahorse, or even your great-aunt Rosemary staring back at you.
From Science Daily • May 14, 2026
Philippa, from Llangrannog, in Ceredigion, Wales, said her great-aunt was from a very wealthy and political family.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
They were also third-degree relatives, suggesting a connection such as great-aunt and niece or cousins.
From Science Daily • Feb. 19, 2026
“Who thinks this would happen at a baby birthday party,” said a woman who identified herself as a great-aunt of the birthday girl.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 1, 2025
I also went to Cuba with a group of Johns Hopkins students to study the island’s arts and culture—a trip I used to try to find my long-lost great-aunt and other family members.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
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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.