noun a sign (ʻ) placed over a vowel to indicate that it is pronounced with aspiration or is long or high-toned
verb to pronounce with an audible puff of breath
adjective relating to or denoting a speech sound produced with an audible puff of breath
In medicine, 'aspirate' can refer to the action of drawing fluid or tissue out of a body cavity using suction, or to the material that is removed in this way.
In linguistics, 'aspirate' refers to a speech sound that is produced with a burst of breath, such as the 'h' sound in English words like 'hat' or 'house'.
In phonetics, 'aspirate' is used to describe the pronunciation of certain consonant sounds that involve a puff of air, like the 'p' in 'pit' or the 't' in 'top'.
In linguistics, a writer may use the term 'aspirate' to describe a speech sound that is pronounced with a burst of air, such as the 'h' sound in English words like 'hat'.
A psychologist may use the term 'aspirate' when discussing breathing exercises or techniques used in therapy to help clients manage stress and anxiety.