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aspiration

UK/ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/US/ˌæspəˈɹeɪʃən/
nounC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #10,133 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: aspirations

An aspiration is a strong hope of achieving something. Career aspirations, an aspiration to lead, aspirational targets.

In policy language an aspirational target is one nobody is obliged to meet, which is a useful thing to notice when a government announces one. In medicine, aspiration is inhaling something into the lungs, and it is dangerous.

Definitions of aspiration

  1. 1nounaspirationA strong hope of achieving something.C1

    “Her aspiration is to become the first doctor in her family.”

aspiration is a hope.

Where it comes from

Latin aspiratio comes from aspirare, to breathe upon — ad plus spirare, to breathe.

  1. Latin

    aspīrō — breathe on; approach; desire

  2. Old French

    aspirer

  3. Middle English

    aspiren

  4. English

    aspire

  5. English, today

    aspiration

From aspire + -ation. aspire comes from Middle English aspiren, from Old French aspirer, from Latin aspīrō (“breathe on; approach; desire”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

aspiration in the wild

  • Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS), also known as neonatal aspiration of meconium, is a medical condition affecting newborn infants.

    Meconium aspiration syndrome

  • In healthy people, aspiration of small quantities of material is common and rarely results in disease or injury.

    Pulmonary aspiration

  • About 3.6 million cases of pulmonary aspiration or foreign body in the airway occurred in 2013.

    Pulmonary aspiration

  • During swallowing, it closes to prevent aspiration of food into the lungs, forcing the swallowed liquids or food to go along the esophagus toward the stomach instead.

    Epiglottis

  • Salt water aspiration syndrome was first described in 1970.

    Salt water aspiration syndrome

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the aspīrō family

aspireaspiration

aspiration — used about once every 5,793 pages · #10,133 · point at the bar for the others