aspiration

[ as-puh-rey-shuhn ]

noun

1. a strong desire, longing, or aim; ambition:

   intellectual aspirations.

   Synonyms: craving, yearning

2. a goal or objective that is strongly desired:

   The presidency has been his aspiration since boyhood.

3. the act of aspirating or breathing in.
4. Phonetics.
   1. articulation accompanied by an audible puff of breath, as in the h -sound of how, or of when (hwen), or in the release of initial stops, as in the k -sound of key.
   2. the use of such a speech sound, or aspirate, in pronunciation.
5. Medicine/Medical.
   1. the act of removing a fluid, as pus or serum, from a cavity of the body, by a hollow needle or trocar connected with a suction syringe.
   2. the act of inhaling fluid or a foreign body into the bronchi and lungs, often after vomiting.

aspiration

/ -trɪ; ˈæspɪrətərɪ; -trɪ; ˌæspɪˈreɪʃən; əˈspaɪrətərɪ /

noun

1. strong desire to achieve something, such as success
2. the aim of such desire
3. 1. the act of breathing
   2. a breath
4. phonetics
   1. the pronunciation of a stop with an audible and forceful release of breath
   2. the friction of the released breath
   3. an aspirated consonant
5. removal of air or fluid from a body cavity by suction
6. med
   1. the sucking of fluid or foreign matter into the air passages of the body
   2. the removal of air or fluid from the body by suction

Derived Forms

• ˌaspiˈrational, adjective
• aspiratory, adjective

Other Words From

• aspi·ration·al adjective
• super·aspi·ration noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of aspiration¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin aspīrātiōn-, stem of aspīrātiō “a breathing upon”; aspirate, -ion

Example Sentences

He was a bridgehead to Labour's traditional working class roots who saw the value in, and indeed personified, championing the aspirations of the less well off.

From BBC

Shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake accused the government of "pulling up the drawbridge on home ownership and limiting aspiration and social mobility".

From BBC

In a game between teams with playoff aspirations, however, the Bengals didn’t go down easily.

From Los Angeles Times

That aspiration shattered overnight when Russia launched its full invasion of Ukraine.

From BBC

But Conservative peer Brady said planned "extreme redistribution" would "replace our brilliant but brutal meritocracy with the likelihood of a closed shop where survival not aspiration becomes a ceiling".

From BBC

Related Words

• aim
• ambition
• desire
• dream
• eagerness
• endeavor
• inclination
• longing
• objective
• passion
• wish
• yearning