aunt
PronouncedANT
nounYour parent's sister, or your parent's sister's wife.
nounA woman who is a friend of your parents, or an older woman you know well.
nounYour parent's female cousin, or a female cousin by marriage.
Syllables
1 syllable
Letters
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: AU says “a” (laugh, aunt)
Sound“a”·/æ/
In a few words AU says short A “a” instead of “aw” — 'laugh' rhymes with 'staff'.
AU almost always says “aw” (author, autumn, because, sauce). A small group of words says short A “a” instead: laugh, laughter, aunt and draught. In laugh and draught the GH says /f/, so laugh is simply “laf”. These are worth learning by sight — the spelling gives no clue.
Tip
Laugh rhymes with staff — not with sauce!
Examples
Phonics Rule: NT End Blend
Sound“nt”·/nt/
NT at the end of a syllable blends /n/ and /t/ together, like in 'tent', 'mint', and 'want'.
NT is a very common end blend. The nasal /n/ flows into the stop /t/. In fast speech the /t/ is sometimes barely voiced, but both sounds are present.
Tip
NT tents up at the end — tent, mint, hunt!
Examples
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