aspiration

American  

[as-puh-rey-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  

/ -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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• superaspiration
  noun
• aspirational
  adjective
• aspiratory
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• aspirations
  plural

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

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

The push for Saudi-Israeli normalisation has been an aspiration of successive US presidents.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

“Parliament must function, meaningful discussions must take place, and collective resolutions must be made to move the country forward. This is the demand of the times and the aspiration of the youth,” Modi said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Set in 1897 in rural Australia, the film follows Davis’ Sybylla, who dreams of becoming a writer, an unconventional aspiration given her family’s poverty and societal norms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

It is conversation, disagreement, aspiration, compromise and the ongoing effort to build a more perfect Union.

From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026

If Bobby did wish to become Catholic, it’s possible that aspiration was sufficient for him to have been accepted into the Church, at least by less conservative clergy.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

King Power changed the aspirations, the expectations and the definition of success at Leicester City.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

It has been a disappointing result for a group that began the season with World Series aspirations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

A January integration deal between Damascus and the Kurdish administration crushed Kurdish aspirations for self-rule and still raises concerns for many from the minority group.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

And if anything would derail his debt-free aspirations, then Erle wouldn’t take the opportunity.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

What makes the strong programme strong is the conviction that the content of science, and not just the ways in which science is organized, or the values and aspirations of scientists, can be explained sociologically.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Related Words

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