aspirate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
Phonetics.
-
to articulate (a speech sound, especially a stop) so as to produce an audible puff of breath, as with the first t of total, the second t being unaspirated.
-
to articulate (the beginning of a word or syllable) with an h -sound, as in which, pronounced (hwich), or hitch as opposed to witch or itch.
-
-
Medicine/Medical.
-
to remove (a fluid) from a body cavity by use of an aspirator or suction syringe.
-
to inhale (fluid or a foreign body) into the bronchi and lungs, often after vomiting.
-
-
to draw or remove by suction.
noun
-
Phonetics. a speech sound having as an obvious concomitant an audible puff of breath, as initial stop consonants or initial h -sounds.
-
Medicine/Medical. the substance or contents that have been aspirated.
adjective
verb
-
phonetics
-
to articulate (a stop) with some force, so that breath escapes with audible friction as the stop is released
-
to pronounce (a word or syllable) with an initial h
-
-
to draw in or remove by inhalation or suction, esp to suck (air or fluid) from a body cavity or to inhale (fluid) into the lungs after vomiting
-
to supply air to (an internal-combustion engine)
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have aspiratedperfect
-
has aspiratedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have been aspiratingperfect progressive
-
are aspiratingprogressive
-
is aspiratingprogressive 3rd person singular
-
has been aspiratingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
-
aspiratessingular 3rd person
-
am aspiratingprogressive 1st person singular
-
aspiratingparticiple
Past
-
had aspiratedperfect
-
was aspiratingprogressive singular
-
were aspiratingprogressive plural
-
had been aspiratingperfect progressive
-
aspiratedsimple
-
aspiratedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of aspirate
First recorded in 1660–70; from Latin aspīrātus “breathed upon” (past participle of aspīrāre ); see origin at aspire, -ate 1
Explanation
To aspirate is to exhale or breathe air out as you speak. Many languages include word sounds that require the speaker to aspirate. Many speakers aspirate as they pronounce certain sounds, and in linguistics or speech therapy, it's a common term. In medicine, to aspirate is something very different — it means to suck or breathe in, often in a dangerous way. Someone who drowns, for example, aspirates water as they struggle. The Latin root is aspirare, "to breathe upon, blow upon, or breathe."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She is concerned that Óisín's cerebral palsy puts him at a greater risk of complications, saying she had been warned there was a danger he could aspirate.
From BBC • Oct. 2, 2023
Aspiration occurs in one of every 2,000 to 3,000 operations that require sedation, and almost half of patients who aspirate during surgery develop a related lung injury.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 13, 2023
One of my parents would have to hold me up and the other one would have to hold hold my head and make sure that I didn't aspirate and things like that.
From Salon • Oct. 30, 2022
Micro-fragmented adipose tissue and bone marrow aspirate treatments “are minimal manipulation and, as long as the physician is injecting ‘like into like,’ this is homologous use.
From Washington Post • Nov. 5, 2021
In his language, for example, the G, when before the vowels E and I, the J always, and, in certain cases, the X, have the value of the aspirate.
From Calavar or The Knight of The Conquest, A Romance of Mexico by Bird, Robert Montgomery
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
