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aspiration

 - 4 dictionary results

as⋅pi⋅ra⋅tion

[as-puh-rey-shuhn]
–noun
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.
4. Phonetics.
a. 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.
b. the use of an aspirate in pronunciation.
5. Medicine/Medical.
a. 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.
b. the act of inhaling fluid or a foreign body into the bronchi and lungs, often after vomiting.

Origin:
1375–1425; late ME (< MF) < L aspīrātiōn- (s. of aspīrātiō). See aspirate, -ion


as⋅pi⋅ra⋅tion⋅al, adjective


1. yearning, craving.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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as·pi·ra·tion   (ās'pə-rā'shən)   
n.  
  1. Expulsion of breath in speech.

  2. Linguistics

    1. The pronunciation of a consonant with an aspirate.

    2. A speech sound produced with an aspirate.

    3. A strong desire for high achievement.

    4. An object of such desire; an ambition.

  3. The act of breathing in; inhalation.

  4. Medicine The process of removing fluids or gases from the body with a suction device.

    1. A strong desire for high achievement.

    2. An object of such desire; an ambition.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: as·pi·ra·tion
Pronunciation: "as-p&-'rA-sh&n
Function: noun
: a drawing of something in, out, up, or through by oras if by suction: as a : the act of breathing and especially of breathing in b : the withdrawal of fluid or friable tissue from the body c : thetaking of foreign matter into the lungs with the respiratory current —as·pi·ra·tion·al /-shn&l, -sh&n-&l/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

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

  1. The removal of a gas or fluid by suction.

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

  3. 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.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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