Aspiration

Aspiration may refer to:

In linguistics:

  • Aspirated consonant, a plosive pronounced with a strong burst of air
  • Debuccalization, the conversion of a consonant to or
  • Voiceless glottal fricative

In technology:

  • Naturally aspirated engine, an internal combustion engine that relies on atmospheric pressure for air intake, and does not use a supercharger or turbocharger

In medicine:

  • Pulmonary aspiration, the entry of secretions or foreign material into the trachea and lungs
  • Aspiration pneumonia, a lung infection caused by pulmonary aspiration
  • Needle aspiration biopsy, a surgical procedure
  • Vacuum aspiration, a pregnancy termination procedure
  • Nasogastric aspiration, the removal of the stomach's contents via a nasogastric tube.

Aspiration may also mean:

  • Hope or Ambition

Famous quotes containing the word aspiration:

    I should think the American admiration of five-minute tourists has done more to kill the sacredness of old European beauty and aspiration than multitudes of bombs would have done.
    —D.H. (David Herbert)

    She represents the unavowed aspiration of the male human being, his potential infidelity—and infidelity of a very special kind, which would lead him to the opposite of his wife, to the “woman of wax” whom he could model at will, make and unmake in any way he wished, even unto death.
    Marguerite Duras (b. 1914)

    To have his path made clear for him is the aspiration of every human being in our beclouded and tempestuous existence.
    Joseph Conrad (1857–1924)