aspiration meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

aspiration

noun

CA, US, UK /ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/ · AU /ˌæspəˈɹæɪʃən/

Etymology From aspire + -ation.

The act of aspiring or ardently desiring; an ardent wish or desire, chiefly after what is elevated or spiritual (with common adjunct adpositions being to and of).

Riley has an aspiration to become a doctor.
Morgan has an aspiration of winning the game.

1 more example

TfL retains aspirations to further increase frequency on the ELL [East London Line] to 24tph, which would require a switch from conventional signalling to a digital railway solution involving automatic train operation on the core section.2019 October, “Funding for 20tph East London Line service”, in Modern Railways, page 18:

Derived terms: aspirational, aspirationalism, aspirationalist, bronchoaspiration, deaspiration, fine-needle aspiration, joint aspiration, lipoaspiration, microaspiration, needle aspiration biopsy, reaspiration, salt water aspiration syndrome, thrombaspiration, thromboaspiration, vacuum aspiration

aspiration

noun

Etymology From aspirate + -ion or borrowed from Latin aspīrātiō.

The action of aspirating.

Human sciences, Linguistics, Phonetics, Phonology, Sciences A burst of air that follows the release of some consonants.

In Cambodian, aspiration is phonemic, so /p/ and /pʰ/ are different phonemes.

Medicine, Sciences The withdrawal of fluid, tissue, or other substance, usually through a hollow needle from a body cavity, cyst, or tumor.

Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences The silent breaking h beginning some French words, largely of Germanic origin.

Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences The process of lenition involving writing a digraph with h, especially at the beginning of a word.

Derived terms: aspirational, preaspiration, pre-aspiration