aspire

verb

as·​pire ə-ˈspī(-ə)r 

aspired; aspiring

intransitive verb

1

: to seek to attain or accomplish a particular goal

She aspired to a career in medicine.

2

: ascend, soar

aspirer noun

Synonyms

• aim
• allow [chiefly Southern & Midland]
• calculate
• contemplate
• design
• go [chiefly Southern & Midland]
• intend
• look
• mean
• meditate
• plan
• propose
• purport
• purpose

Examples of aspire in a Sentence

aspire to great deeds, and you have a better chance of doing good deeds

a tower aspiring towards the heavens

Recent Examples on the Web

Take, for example, the assumption that older people always aspire to stay young. —Jeetendr Sehdev, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024

Still, anyone aspiring to be better off will be subject to wider economic impacts. —Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 26 Dec. 2024

He's aided by his assistant, aspiring journalist Emmy (Robyn Cara), and by a veteran Irish investigative journalist, Dove (Siobhan Cullen), on assignment in exile from London after a story falls apart when her whistleblower source unexpectedly dies. —Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024

That aims to protect aspiring models from fraudulent predators, a decades-old problem that has been amplified by social media, which some imposters use to contact models directly to avoid any contact with their agencies. —Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 23 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French aspirer, from Latin aspirare, literally, to breathe upon, from ad- + spirare to breathe

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

aspire

verb

as·​pire ə-ˈspī(ə)r 

aspired; aspiring

: to work to get something high or great

aspirer noun