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.

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aspiration British  

/ ˌæspɪˈreɪʃən /

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

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

They also said financial security was their top aspiration.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

Beer cans, bottles and other trash have blown from their property into his yard, he claimed, posing an aspiration risk because ostriches are attracted to shiny objects.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

“A combination of touching aspiration and predictable demagogy implicit in an attitude of eternal intention.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

In “Remake,” McElwee laments the hope that making “Photographic Memory” gave him, an aspiration that he was depicting his son on the cusp of finding his way through the dark.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 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

Hyrox founder Toetzke said it aims to focus on its Olympics aspirations, grow its participants and invest in new products that enhance Hyrox’s offering.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

My wide-eyed aspirations need to be lowered significantly.

From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026

But the long hours, low wages and changing aspirations have made the profession less attractive to younger Kashmiris.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

In recent months, Ossoff’s skill on the stump has stoked speculation about his aspirations for 2028.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

“I hope to be able to indicate,” I explained, “that this case is a trial of the aspirations of the African people, and because of that I thought it proper to conduct my own defense.”

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

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