aspirate
[verb as-puh-reyt; noun, adjective, as-per-it]
- 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.
Show More
- 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.
Show More
- Phonetics. (of a speech sound) pronounced with or accompanied by aspiration; aspirated.
Show More
Origin of aspirate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for aspirate
Contemporary Examples
Some operate like bellows, creating an accordion-like sound as they aspirate.
Bottle propping and speed-feeding gruel causes them to choke and aspirate their food—sometimes causing pneumonia and death.
Historical Examples
Aspirate some of the inoculated media into capillary pipettes.
The Elements of Bacteriological TechniqueJohn William Henry Eyre
The aspirate is rarely misplaced, unless by a recent immigrant.
They omit the aspirate to nearly all words derived from Greek.
Second, the aspirate (h as in have), which is generally condemned.
The Psychology of SingingDavid C. Taylor
Sometimes the aspirate is transferred from the Adj. to the Conjunct.
Elements of Gaelic GrammarAlexander Stewart
aspirate
- 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)
Show More
- phonetics
- a stop pronounced with an audible release of breath
- the glottal fricative represented in English and several other languages as h
Show More
- phonetics (of a stop) pronounced with a forceful and audible expulsion of breath
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for aspirate
n.
1725, "sound of the letter 'H'," especially at the beginning of a word, from Latin aspiratio "a breathing, exhalation, the pronunciation of the letter H" (see aspire).
Show More
v.
"to pronounce with audible breath," 1700; perhaps a back-formation from aspiration (n.2), or from French aspirer (1520s), or directly from Latin aspiratus, past participle of aspirare (see aspire). Related: Aspirated; aspirating.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
aspirate
(ăs′pə-rāt′)- To take in or remove by aspiration.
Show More
- A substance removed by aspiration.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.