aspire

American  

[uh-spahyuhr] / əˈspaɪər /

verb (used without object)

• aspires,
  present (3rd person singular)
• aspired,
  past participle,  past
• aspiring
  present participle

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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Synonym Usage

See ambitious

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

• aspiring
  present
• aspired
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• aspire
  simple
• aspires
  simple
• have aspired
  perfect
• has aspired
  perfect
• am aspiring
  progressive
• are aspiring
  progressive
• is aspiring
  progressive
• have been aspiring
  perfect progressive
• has been aspiring
  perfect progressive

Past

• aspired
  simple
• had aspired
  perfect
• was aspiring
  progressive
• were aspiring
  progressive
• had been aspiring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will aspire
  simple
• will have aspired
  perfect
• will be aspiring
  progressive
• will have been aspiring
  perfect progressive

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”

Explanation

Does your life goal include world domination? Have an ambitious plan that involves gold medals and international fame? Then you definitely know what it means to aspire toward something big. The verb aspire commonly means to aim or shoot for. But it comes from the Latin word aspirare, which means “to breathe upon.” So here's a trick for remembering this word: Think of yourself reaching up towards a spire, that really tall, tapered structure at the top of a church. Or, if you’re in a poetic mood, imagine your wish as a feather that moves forward when you blow on it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aspire aspires aspired aspiring

Becoming a content creator has officially elbowed out old standbys like doctor and astronaut as the job that Gen Z and Gen Alpha most aspire to have.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

"When it comes to our news operations, I do not aspire to lead these companies to bend their newsrooms to my views," he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

Both achieved something many college students aspire to: Erle graduated debt-free, and Lee left school with a job that kickstarted his profession.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

The league hasn’t announced its plans for shifting games outside of Illinois other than to confirm they aspire to do so.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Sadly, no matter how fancy you made your house, there was one thing you could never aspire to improve: your toilet.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

For a book that aspires to give contemporary strategic advice, this is a flaw.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Archer aspires to build a fleet of air taxis that could potentially jet New York City travelers to airports in 15 minutes or less, avoiding traffic jams.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

"For anyone who aspires to do more and wants to go further, I'm proof you can do it," he said, also giving shout-outs to the local schools he had been to.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

The serious journalism Margaret aspires to do is splintering under our distrust of who controls the megaphones.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

It aspires to be both a work of art and something instantly accessible to anyone’s ear, for the sheer pleasure of it.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

She always aspired to have lots of kids, her own mother testified, and even her career, as a labor and delivery nurse, was centered around bringing children into the world.

From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026

Growing up a few blocks from campus, Trinidad aspired to be a veterinarian as a child.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Some who had once aspired to be homeowners now see it as out of reach.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

Manuel Cuesta, a 63-year-old historian and opposition activist, recalled seeing Castro as a "redeemer" in his youth who had made Cuba what it aspired to be.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

He aspired to become a colleague of the great Tycho Brahe, who for thirty-five years had devoted himself, before the invention of the telescope, to the measurement of a clockwork universe, ordered and precise.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

His videos drew dozens of aspiring food truck owners, many of them immigrants like Ochoa, who entrusted him with their life savings in hopes of turning their dreams into a livelihood.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026

Responding to a glut of what it saw as low-quality, AI-generated content from aspiring thought leaders, LinkedIn recently introduced a “seems like AI slop” tag users can click for posts that they find questionable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Amid today’s U.S. housing crisis, the Midwest has repeatedly emerged as an attractive, cheap option for aspiring home buyers.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

She had no idea that the young woman at the wheel, an aspiring novelist in Glickfeld’s Seattle writing workshop, would come to disrupt the business entirely.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

It was the kind of prodigious output that even aspiring male engineers could only hope to replicate.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• crave
• pursue
• strive
• yearn