aspire

American  

[uh-spahyuhr] / əˈspaɪər /

verb (used without object)

aspired, aspiring

1. to long, aim, or seek ambitiously; be eagerly desirous, especially for something great or of high value (usually followed by to, after, or an infinitive).

   to aspire after literary immortality; to aspire to be a doctor.

   Synonyms:

   yearn

2. Archaic. to rise up; soar; mount; tower.

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aspire British  

/ əˈspaɪə /

verb

1. to yearn (for) or have a powerful or ambitious plan, desire, or hope (to do or be something)

   to aspire to be a great leader

2. to rise to a great height

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Related Words

See ambitious

Other Word Forms

• aspirer noun
• aspiring adjective
• aspiringly adverb
• nonaspiring adjective
• unaspiring adjective
• unaspiringly adverb

Etymology

Origin of aspire

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French aspirer, from Latin aspīrāre “to breathe upon, pant after,” from a- a- ⁵ + spīrāre “to breathe, blow”

Example Sentences

"We look forward to welcoming the Mavericks and Rockets to Macao and to once again engaging fans, aspiring players and the local community through the games and surrounding events."

From Barron's

She was Bafta nominated for Wild Rose, where she played an aspiring country singer, and Oscar nominated for playing a troubled mother in The Lost Daughter.

From BBC

“It’s a big world with many countries having large populations that aspire to a better standard of living. Globalization isn’t dead,” Yardeni Research wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal

Still, they both aspired to make feature films.

From Los Angeles Times

So I did what any aspiring value-oriented stock analyst would do: I sold everything else I owned and tripled up.

From Barron's

Related Words

• crave
• pursue
• strive
• yearn