aspiration: Meaning and Definition of

as•pi•ra•tion

Pronunciation: (as"pu-rā'shun), [key]
— n.
  1. strong desire, longing, or aim; ambition: intellectual aspirations.
  2. a goal or objective desired: The presidency is the traditional aspiration of young American boys.
  3. act of aspirating; breath.
    1. 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.
    2. the use of an aspirate in pronunciation.
    1. 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.
    2. the act of inhaling fluid or a foreign body into the bronchi and lungs, often after vomiting.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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