Someone's aunt is the sister of their mother or father, or the wife of their uncle.
She wrote to her aunt in America.
It was a present from Aunt Vera.
2. See also agony aunt
aunt in British English
(ɑːnt)
noun(often capital, esp as a term of address)
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!
Word origin
C13: from Old French ante, from Latin amita a father's sister
aunt in American English
(ænt, ɑːnt)
noun
1.
the sister of one's father or mother
2.
the wife of one's parent's sibling
3. (chiefly in New England and South Midland US)
(used as a term of respectful address to an older woman who is not related to the speaker)
4. slang
an aging male homosexual
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 Englandbroad a,” a vowel similar to French (a) and having a quality between the (a) of hat and the (ä) of car. The vowel (ä) itself is also used. In New England and eastern Virginia (ä) 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) pronunciationof aunt was brought to America before British English developed the (ä) in such words asaunt, dance, and laugh. In American English, (ä) is most common in the areas that maintained the closestcultural ties with England after the (ä) pronunciation developed there in these words
Derived forms
auntlike
adjective
Word origin
[1250–1300; ME aunte ‹ AF, for OF ante ‹ L amita father's sister, old fem. ptp. of amāre to love, i.e., beloved]
Examples of 'aunt' in a sentence
aunt
They came to Europe with their aunt and uncle.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Being an aunt and uncle is great and that's what we decided to do.
The Sun (2017)
Nor did my best friend, my aunt or my dog.
The Sun (2016)
It just kind of came down and picked off certain people here and there... cousins and aunts and uncles and my father very particularly.
The Sun (2016)
She is still the sort of aunt who makes one feel rather feeble.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The disease had affected both her mother and her aunt.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Agony aunts declared it the death of marriage.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The humour depends on your relationship with uncle and aunt.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The cousins and aunts and uncles left behind?
Charles Glass The Tribes Triumphant (2006)
She decided to pass him on to an uncle and aunt who were childless.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
But so did your father, your aunt.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
One is his aunt, who greets us as he leads me to my first viewing.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
We all shared the same home, but they pretended that my real mother was my aunt.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Finally, the old lag takes on the role of agony aunt.
The Sun (2006)
BRITAIN'S favourite agony aunt has been signed up by the Government to help tackle the divorce crisis.
The Sun (2008)
He is shy and refuses to talk, despite encouragement from his father and aunt to do so.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
MY grandad and my aunt died quickly one after the other.
The Sun (2012)
I might buy an elderly aunt one.
The Sun (2011)
I noticed my friend 's aunt sitting in a corner enjoying her drink.
The Sun (2008)
It actually belongs to his wife 's aunt, who also pays the utility and telephone bills.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
She's the most generous daughter, aunt and friend.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
They will marry in the Oxfordshire church where her mother, aunts and grandmother married.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
His mother has died, leaving him with an elderly aunt and his father, who sells spectacles.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
I received an e-mail from a young man who had just been asked to perform the eulogy at the funeral of his wife 's aunt.
Christianity Today (2000)
In other languages
aunt
British English: aunt /ɑːnt/ NOUN
Your aunt is the sister of your mother or father, or the wife of your uncle.
She wrote a letter to her aunt.
American English: aunt
Arabic: عَمَّة /خالة خالة
Brazilian Portuguese: tia
Chinese: 姑妈
Croatian: tetka
Czech: teta
Danish: tante
Dutch: tante
European Spanish: tía
Finnish: täti
French: tante
German: Tante
Greek: θεία
Italian: zia
Japanese: おば 伯母・叔母
Korean: 이모 mother’s sister
Norwegian: tante
Polish: ciocia
European Portuguese: tia
Romanian: mătușă
Russian: тетя
Latin American Spanish: tía
Swedish: faster paternal
Thai: พี่หรือน้องสาวของพ่อหรือแม่
Turkish: teyze mother’s sister
Ukrainian: тітка
Vietnamese: bác older than one’s parents
All related terms of 'aunt'
my aunt!
an exclamation of surprise or amazement
agony aunt
An agony aunt is a person who writes a column in a newspaper or magazine in which they reply to readers who have written to them for advice on their personal problems .
Aunt Sally
a figure of an old woman's head, typically with a clay pipe , used in fairgrounds and f ê tes as a target for balls or other objects
great-aunt
an aunt of one's father or mother ; sister of one's grandfather or grandmother
maiden aunt
A maiden aunt is an aunt who is not married.
Aunt Sallies
a figure of an old woman's head, typically with a clay pipe , used in fairgrounds and f ê tes as a target for balls or other objects