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

Lisa, from Dunfermline, took the genetic test in 2019 after her father and aunt were both diagnosed with cancer.

From BBC

Raised on a steady diet of war stories, and with a chain-smoking aunt who gave her eyesight and two arms to the cause, the pair join the IRA intending to do more than secretarial work.

From Salon

Their aunt Barabara Sastre confirmed to the BBC the boys had been found.

From BBC

Snell’s aunt wore it “during her Bananarama phase,” and in the late 2000s the costume designer partied in London nightclubs wearing the same rose top.

From Los Angeles Times

At the time, her mother claimed Ron had come looking for her while she was staying with an aunt.

From BBC

Related Words

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