aspiration

American  

[as-puh-rey-shuhn] / ˌæs pəˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

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

• aspirational adjective
• aspiratory adjective
• superaspiration noun

Etymology

Origin of aspiration

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin aspīrātiōn-, stem of aspīrātiō “a breathing upon”; aspirate, -ion

Example Sentences

A spokesperson for the UK government said it "inherited" the student loan system and was "committed to supporting the aspiration of anyone who can and wants to attend higher education".

From BBC

Yet it has no “growth aspirations” in California home insurance, Chief Executive Tom Wilson said last year, adding that it would take time to fix the market.

From The Wall Street Journal

But they say they left their schools with low aspirations, little confidence and no real work experience.

From BBC

Visually, “Sun Ra: Do the Impossible” strives to be a representation of its subject’s floating collage of philosophies, theologies and ecstatic musical aspirations.

From The Wall Street Journal

Musk has major aspirations for SpaceX, from developing a 1 million-satellite constellation around the Earth to colonizing the moon and Mars.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

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