Meaning & use
aunt
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Meanings
nouncountable
The sister of your mother or father, or the wife of your uncle.
Grammar: Countable: one aunt, two aunts. Often used with a name or possessive: Aunt Mary, my aunt.
Patterns
- someone's aunt
- Aunt [name]
My aunt lives in Canada.
We visited Aunt Jane last weekend.
She became my aunt when she married my uncle.
nouncountableinformal
Used as a polite title before the first name of an older woman, especially by children.
Grammar: Used as a title: Aunt Mary, not 'the aunt Mary'.
Patterns
- Aunt [name]
Aunt Mary always brings us cookies.
Say hello to Aunt Sarah, children.
Word forms
| plural | aunts |
|---|
Common combinations
- great-aunt
- My great-aunt is 95 years old.
- aunt and uncle
- All my aunts and uncles came to the wedding.
- favorite aunt
- She's my favorite aunt.
Synonyms and how they differ
- auntie
- Informal and affectionate, used especially by children.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: aunt or ant?
aunt vs ant
A small insect; pronounced the same in American English but different meaning.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'aunt' correctly?
Choose one answer.
An aunt is a female relative: the sister of a parent or the wife of an uncle. A father's brother is an uncle; a cousin's son is a cousin once removed; a sister's daughter is a niece.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “aunt”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.