aspiration

American  

[as-puh-ray-shuhn] / ˌæs pəˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

• aspirations
  plural

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.

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aspiration British  

/ ˌæspɪˈreɪʃən /

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• superaspiration
  noun
• aspirational
  adjective
• aspiratory
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• aspirations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of aspiration

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

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Explanation

If your aspiration, or ambition, is to climb Mt. Everest someday, you better start training, because it’s a long, hard climb that requires a lot of preparation. Aspiration means "inhalation" or "breathing." So how did it come to mean "ambition" or "the will to succeed"? The Latin gives us a clue: spirare ("to breathe") and spiritus ("spirit"). It was once believed that our breath was our soul or spirit, which might explain why we talk about "breathing life into" something, or coming up with energy and ideas to invigorate it. How else to breathe life into something than with ambition and drive, in other words, "spirit"?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aspiration aspirations

I got into it watching sketch shows and sitcoms on the BBC and Channel 4, and I gradually formed the aspiration to get involved myself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

"While our aspiration to serve customers in India remains, we look forward to exploring several options to advance our presence in the market over the long term," Seven & i Holdings said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

But the aspiration to deliver tailored health advice to consumers is back with a vengeance, now equipped with a richer instrument panel and AI to connect the dots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

After all, the project chief executive Omar Berrada spoke to staff about in September 2024 was an aspiration to win the Premier League title in 2028.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

“But he had a lot of water in his lungs, and it gave him pneumonia, what they call aspiration pneumonia,” Carl explained.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings

The type of play by the Chargers on Sunday was completely unacceptable, lackluster and disappointing for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

In “The Invisible List,” he guides readers in committing to their own long-deferred aspirations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Hargitay has been tight-lipped about what producers have in store for the night, though she did reveal her aspirations for doing something in the vein of an “SVU musical” during the ceremony.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

"Given its young demographics and 'Digital India' aspirations, it makes sense for the nation to build and maintain its own internet infrastructure for security and governance purposes," she says.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

There’s a reason for this, and it goes way back to when I wasn’t much more than a tiny seed with higher aspirations.

From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate

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Related Words

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

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