aspiration
Pluralaspirations
- 1
- 2The act of breathing something in, or drawing it in through the mouth or nose.
Like a vacuum cleaner pulling air in, but using your own breath.
Accidental aspiration of water made the swimmer cough hard.
Slow, careful aspiration of the warm steam helped clear her nose.
Similarinhalation
- 3Taking fluid or tissue out of the body, usually with a thin hollow needle.
Like using a straw to pull liquid out of a small pouch inside the body.
The doctor used aspiration to remove fluid from the swollen knee.
A quick aspiration of the cyst eased the pressure right away.
Note
- 4A small puff of air that comes out after you say certain sounds.
Like the little puff of air you feel when you blow out a candle.
Say the word 'pin' and you can feel the aspiration on the 'p'.
English speakers add aspiration to the 'k' at the start of 'kit'.
Note
- 5A silent 'h' at the start of some French words that stops them from joining the word before.
Like a small wall in front of a word that stops it sticking to the word before.
The aspiration at the start of 'héros' keeps it from linking to the article.
French learners must remember which words carry aspiration and which do not.
Note
- 6A sound change in some languages, shown in writing by adding an 'h' after a letter.
Like adding a small mark to a letter to show it now sounds softer.
In Irish, aspiration turns 'b' into 'bh' at the start of some words.
The spelling change from 'c' to 'ch' marks aspiration in these forms.
Note
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of aspiration apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origins
From the verb "aspire" plus the ending "-ation".
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- Aspiration comes from the verb aspire plus the ending -ation. en.wiktionary.org
From "aspirate" plus "-ion", or taken from Latin "aspiratio".
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- Aspiration comes from aspirate plus -ion, or is taken from Latin aspiratio. en.wiktionary.org