aspirate

[verb as-puh-reyt; noun, adjective, as-per-it]

verb (used with object), as·pi·rat·ed, as·pi·rat·ing.

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

Phonetics. (of a speech sound) pronounced with or accompanied by aspiration; aspirated.

Origin of aspirate

1660–70; < Latin aspīrātus breathed upon (past participle of aspīrāre). See aspire, -ate¹

Related formsnon·as·pi·rate, noun, adjectivenon·as·pi·rat·ed, adjectivenon·as·pi·rat·ing, adjectiveun·as·pi·rat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for aspirate

Contemporary Examples of aspirate

Some operate like bellows, creating an accordion-like sound as they aspirate.
How to Save Silent Movies: Inside New Jersey’s Cinema Paradiso
Rich Goldstein
October 2, 2014
Bottle propping and speed-feeding gruel causes them to choke and aspirate their food—sometimes causing pneumonia and death.
Russia’s Adoption Ban Is Cruel and Vindictive to All
Dr. Jane Aronson
December 29, 2012

Historical Examples of aspirate

Aspirate some of the inoculated media into capillary pipettes.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique
John William Henry Eyre
The aspirate is rarely misplaced, unless by a recent immigrant.
The Quarterly Review, Volume 162, No. 324, April, 1886
Various
They omit the aspirate to nearly all words derived from Greek.
Notes and Queries, Number 208, October 22, 1853
Various
Second, the aspirate (h as in have), which is generally condemned.
The Psychology of Singing
David C. Taylor
Sometimes the aspirate is transferred from the Adj. to the Conjunct.
Elements of Gaelic Grammar
Alexander Stewart

British Dictionary definitions for aspirate

aspirate

verb (ˈæspɪˌreɪt) (tr)

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 (ˈæspɪrɪt)

phonetics

a stop pronounced with an audible release of breath
the glottal fricative represented in English and several other languages as h

adjective (ˈæspɪrɪt)

phonetics (of a stop) pronounced with a forceful and audible expulsion of breath

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

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).

"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.

aspirate in Medicine

aspirate

[ăs′pə-rāt′]

v.

To take in or remove by aspiration.

n.

A substance removed by aspiration.