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:
She is concerned that Óisín's cerebral palsy puts him at a greater risk of complications, saying she had been warned there was a danger he could aspirate.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2023
Aspiration occurs in one of every 2,000 to 3,000 operations that require sedation, and almost half of patients who aspirate during surgery develop a related lung injury.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 13, 2023
One of my parents would have to hold me up and the other one would have to hold hold my head and make sure that I didn't aspirate and things like that.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2022
Micro-fragmented adipose tissue and bone marrow aspirate treatments “are minimal manipulation and, as long as the physician is injecting ‘like into like,’ this is homologous use.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 5, 2021
Hitherto he had discarded that dangerous letter almost altogether, but now he would pull up at words beginning with "h" and draw a sawing breath—rather like a startled kitten—and then aspirate with vigour.
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
“Yes, my lord, that’s hit hexactly,” put in Dale, with a nervous eagerness that demanded the help of not less than two aspirates.
From Cynthia's Chauffeur by Louis Tracy
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
In terms of efficiency, a turbo engine would make a lot more sense than a naturally aspirated one.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
But the big news is what’s old: the continuing availability of Ford’s high-output 7.3-liter V8, a naturally aspirated, pushrod actuated, gas-guzzling anachronism nicknamed Godzilla.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
This is partly what is behind the current push off-track from FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem for a return to naturally aspirated engines - on which there has been a development this weekend in Italy.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2025
The Anglo-Saxons, no doubt, strongly aspirated the initial h, so that the name has become Clutterbuck.
From Surnames as a Science by Robert Ferguson
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
Can it be shown that Dorset-men are given to aspirating their words?
From Notes and Queries, Number 74, March 29, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by George Bell
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.
