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

Most young workers who aspire to feel wealthy will need to continue investing a considerable share of their income for some time.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

"I'm a regular kid from west Belfast, from an Irish-Ghanian background. I'm nothing special, but just want to leave a legacy the next generation can aspire to."

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

SpaceX will aspire the next time around to execute a launch, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn and landing burn of the booster offshore without hiccups.

From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026

Stresses on middle-class Americans stood out for challenging the traditional view that joining the middle class, as many aspire to do, brings financial security.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Her only political ambition was to “reign in the heart of my husband. That is my throne and there I aspire to be absolute.”

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Corvette, a promising and hard-working designer herself who aspires to Christie’s brilliance, is tormented by nightmares of rich people complaining about the generation who “can’t expect everything to be handed to them.”

From Salon ● May 22, 2026

"The way in which the team aspires to play was clear throughout the review," added the RFU.

From BBC ● May 5, 2026

PsiQuantum aspires to build “the world’s first useful quantum computer” and aims to do so through photonics, an approach that uses light particles carry and process information.

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

Mr. Xi aspires to keep more AI innovation and talent within China.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026

It seems fair to say that Brunelleschi’s image aspires to exemplify what philosophers call a correspondence theory of truth, in which a statement or representation is true if it corresponds to external reality.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

One common thread in all five contributions is the impulse to make America the land of opportunity that it has aspired to be since its founding.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

Many series followed in the wake of “Battlestar Galactica” that aspired to capitalize on its legacy; in my mind, “The Expanse” came closest to meeting its level of fearless political and social pertinence.

From Salon ● May 5, 2026

Ashford Inc. never became the big manager of outside assets that it aspired to be.

From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026

For decades, SI was where every sports journalist aspired to work, hoping to become the next Frank DeFord or Gary Smith, whose 32-year career at the magazine is highly revered.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2026

His friend Tyger aspired to be one of those.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

None of Graham’s aspiring successors will fill that role, but some may come closer to it than others.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Because of the size and influence of UC across the state, the UC course requirements determine aspiring students’ high school careers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Some in the real-estate industry encouraged aspiring buyers to “date the rate, marry the house,” assuring them that they could refinance when rates dropped.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026

Some 2.2 million aspiring medical students sat for a re-examination under tight security last month after the previous test was scrapped following a question paper leak that triggered widespread outrage.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

Yevgeniya Zhigulenko was a horse rider, an aspiring actress, a night-glider pilot, and a college student.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

• crave
• pursue
• strive
• yearn