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a strong desire, longing, or aim; ambition:
intellectual aspirations.
a goal or objective that is strongly desired:
The presidency has been his aspiration since boyhood.
the act of aspirating or breathing in.
Phonetics.

articulation accompanied by an audible puff of breath, as in the h -sound of how, or of when (hwen), or in the release of initial stops, as in the k -sound of key.
the use of such a speech sound, or , in pronunciation.

Medicine/Medical.

the act of removing a fluid, as pus or serum, from a cavity of the body, by a hollow needle or trocar connected with a suction syringe.
the act of inhaling fluid or a foreign body into the bronchi and lungs, often after vomiting.

Contemporary Examples

In the end, Miller is still a model whose image trades in aspiration.
Absolutely Flabulous Marisa Meltzer September 1, 2009

And America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.
Obama’s Egypt Address The Daily Beast Video June 3, 2009

Republicans believe they are the party of aspiration, of the all-American yearning to get ahead.
In State of the Union Response, Marco Rubio Ignored Problems of Minorities the GOP Needs Peter Beinart February 12, 2013

But Roosevelt rooted it firmly in American experience and aspiration.
Embodying Franklin Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms Remains a Vital Challenge Harvey J. Kaye April 5, 2014

As China opened up in the ’80s, interest in professional sports and the aspiration for Olympic medals grew.
China Goes Mad for Soccer Dan Levin June 25, 2010

Historical Examples

Carlyle had now to arrange the mode of life which should enable him to fulfil his aspiration.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 3 Various

And the ‘ole point of an aspiration is the sacrifice of someone else.
The Burning Spear John Galsworthy

Intelligence implies aspiration, as thought is aspiration to the good, iii.
Plotinos: Complete Works, v. 4 Plotinos (Plotinus)

We write from aspiration and antagonism, as well as from experience.
Essays, First Series Ralph Waldo Emerson

Each had its own significance and value in his estimation, as a dream, an aspiration of the human mind.
Peak and Prairie Anna Fuller

noun
strong desire to achieve something, such as success
the aim of such desire

the act of breathing
a breath

(phonetics)

the pronunciation of a stop with an audible and forceful release of breath
the friction of the released breath
an aspirated consonant

removal of air or fluid from a body cavity by suction
(med)

the sucking of fluid or foreign matter into the air passages of the body
the removal of air or fluid from the body by suction

n.

1530s, “action of breathing into,” from Latin aspirationem (nominative aspiratio), noun of action from past participle stem of aspirare (see aspire). Meaning “steadfast longing for a higher goal, earnest desire for something above one” is recorded from c.1600 (sometimes collectively, as aspirations).

late 14c., “action of aspirating,” noun of action from aspirate (v.).

aspiration as·pi·ra·tion (ās’pə-rā’shən)
n.

The removal of a gas or fluid by suction.

The sucking of fluid or a foreign body into the airway when drawing breath.

A surgical technique used in the treatment of cataracts of the eye, in which an incision is made into the cornea, the lens capsule is severed, and the material of the lens is fragmented and aspirated by a needle.