great-aunt
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
Speaking of her great-aunt, she says, “I channel her a lot.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
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
Almost everyone was safe and accounted for, he was told, except for a distant great-aunt who died in Mandalay – and his Oo Oo.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2025
“It’s pretty usual for us in Humboldt County to get earthquakes,” said Chappelle, who is the innkeeper of Hydrangea Inn, which was built by her great-aunt in the 1930s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2024
Celia had known him since she was a child, when her mother had sent her from the countryside to live with her great-aunt in Havana.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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Once my sister goes, “I don’t remember our great-aunts and -uncles being as crazy as Mom and Dad can be.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2025
Two of her great-aunts worked at the factory, and one of them, Rosie Weiner, died in the fire.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 11, 2023
I saw my great-aunts donning these uniforms and driving out to Orange County or Laurel Canyon in order to cook and clean for people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 29, 2023
In the bleachers, Page’s mother, his former third-grade teacher, great-aunts and two siblings cheered him on.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 21, 2022
I see my great-aunts fanning themselves and my second cousins chugging water.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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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.