Crossword Genius

Hope to climb a steeple (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

aspire

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'hope' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'a steeple' is the wordplay.
'steeple' becomes 'spire' (synonyms).
'a'+'spire'='ASPIRE'

'to climb' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for aspire that I've seen before include "Have hopes (to achieve something)" , "Seek (to do something)" , "Aim, have an ambitious plan" , "Have ambitious plans for" , "Have a strong desire to achieve something" .)

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.
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