aspiration

American  

[as-puh-rey-shuhn] / ˌæs pəˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

• aspirations
  plural

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.

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• superaspiration
  noun
• aspirational
  adjective
• aspiratory
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• aspirations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of aspiration

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

Explanation

If your aspiration, or ambition, is to climb Mt. Everest someday, you better start training, because it’s a long, hard climb that requires a lot of preparation. Aspiration means "inhalation" or "breathing." So how did it come to mean "ambition" or "the will to succeed"? The Latin gives us a clue: spirare ("to breathe") and spiritus ("spirit"). It was once believed that our breath was our soul or spirit, which might explain why we talk about "breathing life into" something, or coming up with energy and ideas to invigorate it. How else to breathe life into something than with ambition and drive, in other words, "spirit"?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aspiration aspirations

Moreover, there is no evidence that aspiration is being rewarded.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

As a form of media, mail-order catalogs themselves were a story of longing and aspiration that came to define shopping as an American way of life.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

Set in 1897 in rural Australia, the film follows Davis’ Sybylla, who dreams of becoming a writer, an unconventional aspiration given her family’s poverty and societal norms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Inquiry co-chair Baroness Estelle Morris said responsibility "cannot sit with schools alone" and was not due to a lack of aspiration or effort from young people.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

Before long, Handel’s English-language oratorios even featured home-grown English singer-soloists, too, fulfilling contemporary actor-playwright and Poet Laureate Colley Cibber’s aspiration to ‘reconcile Musick to the English Tongue’.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

King Power changed the aspirations, the expectations and the definition of success at Leicester City.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

It has been a disappointing result for a group that began the season with World Series aspirations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

A January integration deal between Damascus and the Kurdish administration crushed Kurdish aspirations for self-rule and still raises concerns for many from the minority group.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

That kind of foot in the door can make all the difference for young people like Ohwobete and Ramírez, who have creative aspirations but few opportunities to realize them on a large scale.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

The Allies together were an eclectic, spirited group, loaded with idealism and aspirations and representing a broad swath of backgrounds.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

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