as·pi·rate
ˈa-sp(ə-)rət 
1
: an independent sound \h\ or a character (such as the letter h) representing it
2
: a consonant having aspiration as its final component
in English the \p\ of pit is an aspirate
3
: material removed by aspiration
as·pi·rate
ˈa-spə-ˌrāt
aspirated; aspirating
1
: to pronounce (a vowel or a consonant) with aspiration (see aspiration sense 3a)
2
a
: to draw by suction
b
: to remove (something such as blood) by aspiration
c
: to take into the lungs by aspiration
Examples of aspirate in a Sentence
Noun
The word “hour” is not pronounced with an aspirate.
Verb
The letter “h” in “house” is aspirated, but the “h” in “hour” is not.
She began coughing when she aspirated some orange juice.
Recent Examples on the Web
Dr. John De Jong, Boston Herald, 14 Sep. 2025
According to veterinary oncologists, a fine needle aspirate to see what kinds of cells it’s made of is almost always in order in these cases.
—Dr. Patty Khuly, miamiherald, 5 July 2018
Marc D. Grasso, Boston Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
Another check by the vet revealed that the dog had aspirated some of her vomit and was now battling a lung infection and pneumonia because of it.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for aspirate
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Noun
If the problem does not resolve relatively quickly then a skin scraping, needle aspirate or punch biopsy might be in order.
—Dr. John De Jong, Boston Herald, 14 Sep. 2025
According to veterinary oncologists, a fine needle aspirate to see what kinds of cells it’s made of is almost always in order in these cases.
—Dr. Patty Khuly, miamiherald, 5 July 2018
Verb
Powered by a 181 horsepower naturally aspirated 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, our 35th anniversary edition boasted a 6-speed manual transmission which was all the craze as the gears were fun to fly through our rear-wheel drive version.
—Marc D. Grasso, Boston Herald, 2 Oct. 2025
Another check by the vet revealed that the dog had aspirated some of her vomit and was now battling a lung infection and pneumonia because of it.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for aspirate
Cite this Entry
“Aspirate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aspirate. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
aspirate
1 of 2 verb
as·pi·rate
ˈas-pə-ˌrāt
aspirated; aspirating
1
: to pronounce with an initial \h\
2
: to remove (as blood) by suction
aspirate
2 of 2 noun
as·pi·rate
ˈas-p(ə-)rət
: the sound \h\ or a letter or symbol representing it
Medical Definition
aspirate
1 of 2 transitive verb
as·pi·rate
ˈas-pə-ˌrāt
aspirated; aspirating
1
: to draw by suction
2
: to remove (as blood) by aspiration
the portal vein is exposed and blood is aspirated with a 50-ml. syringe—Biological Abstracts
Biological Abstracts3
: inhale
aspirated material into the respiratory tract—Anesthesia Digest
Anesthesia Digestaspirate
2 of 2 noun
as·pi·rate
ˈas-p(ə-)ret
: material removed by aspiration
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