aspiration

 
Pronunciation: /aspəˈreɪʃ(ə)n/

noun

  • 1 (usually aspirations) a hope or ambition of achieving something: the needs and aspirations of the people [mass noun]: the yawning gulf between aspiration and reality
  • 2 [mass noun] Medicine the action or process of drawing breath.
  • the action of drawing fluid by suction from a vessel or cavity: bathing solutions were changed by careful aspiration
  • 3 [mass noun] Phonetics the action of pronouncing a sound with an exhalation of breath: there is no aspiration if the syllable begins with s

Origin:

late Middle English (in aspiration (sense 3)): from Latin aspiratio(n-), from the verb aspirare (see aspire)