1 a
: a strong desire to achieve something high or great - an aspiration to become famous
—usually plural - a young man with political/literary aspirations
b
: an object of such desire - An acting career is her aspiration.
2
: a drawing of something in, out, up, or through by or as if by suction: such as
a
: the act of breathing and especially of breathing in
b
: the withdrawal (as by suction) of fluid or tissue from the body - the aspiration of stomach fluids
c
: the taking of foreign matter into the lungs with the respiratory current - problems caused by the aspiration of fluids into the patient's lungs
3
linguistics
a
: audible breath that accompanies or comprises a speech sound
b
: the pronunciation or addition of an aspiration - the aspiration of the letter "h" in "a house"
;
also
: the symbol of an aspiration