aunt

UK /ɑːnt/ US /ænt/ Syllables: aunt

Pronunciation

Noun A1 Beginner Neutral

The sister of your mother or father, or the wife of your uncle.

An aunt is the sister of your mother or father, or the wife of your uncle. Many people are close to their aunts, who may give advice, tell family stories or give gifts. Aunt is also used as a title before a name, as in Aunt Mary, and children often shorten it to auntie or aunty. The opposite of an aunt is an uncle. The word is said in two ways: in British English it rhymes with part, and in American English it rhymes with can't.

"Her aunt sent her a birthday card every year."

Example sentences

"My aunt lives in Canada."

Level A1
"We visited Aunt Rosa on Sunday."

Level A1
"Her aunt gave her a book for her birthday."

Level A1
"He has two aunts and three uncles."

Level A1

Synonyms and antonyms

Antonyms

uncle

Look-alikes and common mistakes

ant : An ant is a small insect. It can sound the same as aunt in many accents, but the spelling is different.
uncle : An uncle is the brother of your parent. An aunt is the sister.

Word family and forms

Forms: aunts

uncle auntie great-aunt

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "aunt".

my aunt
Aunt Maria
a favorite aunt
an aunt and uncle
visit an aunt
a great-aunt

Origin

Aunt came into English in the 1200s and 1300s from Anglo-French aunte and Old French ante, which took it from Latin amita, a father's sister. The Latin word may come from amare, to love, as if the word meant the beloved one. Aunt replaced an older English word for a mother's sister.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

Aunt and ant sound alike in many accents. The u in aunt is the difference on the page, and the aunt is the bigger relative.

Test yourself

Which word fits the gap? "My _____ lives in Canada."

Answer: aunt

In your own words, what does "aunt" mean?