aspirate
Americanverb (used with object)
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aspirates,
present (3rd person singular)
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aspirated,
past participle, past
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aspirating
present participle
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Phonetics.
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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.
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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.
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Medicine/Medical.
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to remove (a fluid) from a body cavity by use of an aspirator or suction syringe.
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to inhale (fluid or a foreign body) into the bronchi and lungs, often after vomiting.
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to draw or remove by suction.
noun
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Phonetics. a speech sound having as an obvious concomitant an audible puff of breath, as initial stop consonants or initial h -sounds.
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Medicine/Medical. the substance or contents that have been aspirated.
adjective
verb
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phonetics
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to articulate (a stop) with some force, so that breath escapes with audible friction as the stop is released
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to pronounce (a word or syllable) with an initial h
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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
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to supply air to (an internal-combustion engine)
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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aspiratesimple
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aspiratessimple
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have aspiratedperfect
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has aspiratedperfect
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am aspiratingprogressive
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are aspiratingprogressive
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is aspiratingprogressive
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have been aspiratingperfect progressive
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has been aspiratingperfect progressive
Past
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aspiratedsimple
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had aspiratedperfect
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was aspiratingprogressive
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were aspiratingprogressive
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had been aspiratingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
If you are gargling at the same time that you are hiccupping, you might aspirate water.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 13, 2023
Ms Butterworth noted Child I's swollen tummy and asked Ms Letby to aspirate her nasogastric feeding tube, which obtained a "fair amount of air" and 2ml of milk.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2023
Bone marrow aspirate contains growth factors that decrease inflammation and promote healing, while micro-fragmented adipose tissue is marketed for cushioning and support.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 5, 2021
We could not hurry; if we did, he might aspirate what was in his mouth.
From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2019
A certain confusion between these words was becoming evident, the first fruits of a lesson from Chitterlow on the aspirate.
From Kipps The Story of a Simple Soul by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
That could change, if relatively painless and simple fine needle aspirates of the liver can capture enough tissue.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 29, 2018
The bearded Ballard hoots and snarls and aspirates, but there’s no amount of disinfectant that can clean up the screen.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 31, 2014
And then there were tweets about 2016 presidential aspirates - or, rather, one presidential aspirant who has been the butt of many Twitter jokes of late.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2014
The British middle classes, however, have stubbornly continued to cling to their social aspirations and their aspirates.
From Time Magazine Archive
F or V, H, Dh, and Th are called aspirates.
From A Handbook of the Cornish Language chiefly in its latest stages with some account of its history and literature by Henry Jenner
This has left an easy target for FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, to propose a return to naturally aspirated V8 engines for 2031.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
This is important, because Ben Sulayem was outflanked by the manufacturers when he last tried switching to a naturally aspirated engine, a V10, a little over a year ago.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
Instead, deep beneath the swells and swales of aluminum and carbon fiber, is the full send, the real deal: a naturally aspirated, dry-sump lubricated, 6.5-liter V12.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
By contrast, naturally aspirated engines breathe air like we do, at atmospheric pressures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
I gasped and aspirated the water into my lungs, coughed and took more water in.
From Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
The autopsy determined he died from asphyxia after aspirating on his own vomit, and that his death was accidental.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2025
At the time, modern abortion medications were not available, and the technique was performed by aspirating the contents of the uterus through a tube.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 26, 2022
With the air breathers, there’s different ways that oil gets into their bodies and one of them is basically aspirating the oil, which gets into the lungs and the circulatory system.
From The Verge ● Oct. 8, 2021
Finally, came the important part: “aspirating framework” — indicating an aspirating detector in the cathedral’s attic, which was also known as the framework.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 17, 2019
A better specimen can sometimes be obtained by puncturing an enlarged lymph gland with a hypodermic needle, injecting a few minims of sterile saline solution and then aspirating the blood-stained fluid.
From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Alexis Thomson
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.
