aspire
verb (used without object)
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).
were aspiring
-
past progressiveof aspire.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Most attendees were aspiring founders or founders, some of whose startups are backed by Slow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
"We were aspiring to be a super plant, making a million tons of steel a year. We've got a full order book, and yet here we are, furloughed."
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2021
Witness the Tankards’ mocking of their hero’s self-puffery, as if he were aspiring to be an action hero, with laughable results.
From New York Times ● Aug. 15, 2020
Many were aspiring models he approached through their agents, saying he was interested in mentoring a particular young woman and the agent would send them his way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2020
They were aspiring to conquer an inland empire of prairie and mountain and desert, impelled by the same pioneering and adventurous ardor which had burned in their seafaring sires.
From The Old Merchant Marine; A chronicle of American ships and sailors by Ralph Delahaye Paine
