Definition
Relating to the sense of hearing. In aviation, an aural alert or aural warning is one delivered as a sound — a tone, chime, horn, or spoken voice message — rather than as a light or visual indication.
Plain English
Aural means something you hear. An aural warning is a warning that comes through your ears, like a beep, buzzer, or voice telling you what's happening.
Context Anchor
Seen in terrain alerting system descriptions, where warnings may be given both visually on a display and aurally through sound.
Derivation
From the Latin auris meaning 'ear.' The same root gives us 'auricle' (the outer ear). Knowing this anchors the meaning: aural always relates to hearing, never to sight.
Why Pilots Care
Modern cockpits use aural alerts because pilots can hear them even when their eyes are focused elsewhere — outside the aircraft, on instruments, or on a chart. Recognizing each aural alert quickly is part of safe operation.
Intuition Check
Aural does not mean oral. Oral is about the mouth or spoken words; aural is about the ear and hearing.
Example Sentence 1
When the aircraft descended below the glideslope, the pilot received both a visual and an aural warning from the terrain alerting system.
Example Sentence 2
During the approach the pilot heard the aural "pull up" alert and immediately initiated a climb.