Other forms: aspiring, aspired, aspires
To aspire is to aim at something high. Aspire to greatness, aspire to be a doctor, aspired to the leadership.
It takes to, and the thing aimed at is always something worth having, which is why nobody aspires to mediocrity except as a joke. The Latin behind it means to breathe towards, and aspiration in the sense of breathing is the same word.
1verbaspireTo aim at something high.
“Many young players aspire to play for their national team.”
aspire is an aiming.
Latin aspirare means to breathe upon or towards — ad plus spirare, to breathe. Spirit is a relative.
Latin
aspīrō — breathe on; approach; desire
Old French
aspirer
Middle English
aspiren
English, today
aspire
From Middle English aspiren, from Old French aspirer, from Latin aspīrō (“breathe on; approach; desire”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA