aspire

verb

as·​pire ə-ˈspī(-ə)r How to pronounce aspire (audio)
aspired; aspiring

intransitive verb

1
: to seek to attain or accomplish a particular goal
She aspired to a career in medicine.
2
aspirer noun

Examples of aspire in a Sentence

aspire to great deeds, and you have a better chance of doing good deeds a tower aspiring towards the heavens
Recent Examples on the Web The ten men vying for the title of Mr. Christmas include a firefighter (Isaac Ramirez, 28), a former Navy rescue diver (Ezra Moreland, 31), and several working/aspiring actors. EW.com, 29 Oct. 2024 The 10-year-old boy who was not identified in the lawsuit was an aspiring actor and rapper who had traveled with his parents from California for meetings with music industry representatives. Samuel Burke, Fortune, 29 Oct. 2024 The grand openings, the marketing blitz around the new stores, an aggressive online sales push as well as a rapidly growing middle class that aspires to own Apple products boosted its annual India revenue to a record of $8 billion in the year through March. Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune Asia, 29 Oct. 2024 Every team aspires to be the best, but the reality is only one team will win it all. Lorrissa Horton, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for aspire 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'aspire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French aspirer, from Latin aspirare, literally, to breathe upon, from ad- + spirare to breathe

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of aspire was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near aspire

Cite this Entry

“Aspire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aspire. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

aspire

verb
as·​pire ə-ˈspī(ə)r How to pronounce aspire (audio)
aspired; aspiring
: to work to get something high or great
aspirer noun

More from Merriam-Webster on aspire

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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