expire
Americanverb (used without object)
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to come to an end; terminate, as a contract, guarantee, or offer.
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to emit the last breath; die.
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to breathe out.
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to die out, as a fire.
verb (used with object)
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to breathe out; emit (air) from the lungs.
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Archaic. to give off, emit, or eject.
verb
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(intr) to finish or run out; cease; come to an end
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to breathe out (air); exhale
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(intr) to die
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of expire
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin ex ( s ) pīrāre to breathe out, equivalent to ex- ex- 1 + spīrāre to breathe
Explanation
If something — like milk or a free shipping coupon — expires, it is no longer usable or valid. When you expire, you will be dead. The verb expire comes from the Latin expirare, meaning “breathe out,” and the modern use retains that ancient meaning. The expanded, and more commonly used, meaning of expire is that the breath has — literally or figuratively — departed. When you expire your breath, you breathe out; you exhale. Things with a limited shelf life sometimes offer an expiration date that lets you know when they will expire: yogurt, frozen burritos, and even contracts for temporary employment. But some things expire in their own time: life, love, and car batteries.
Vocabulary lists containing expire
"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs
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Vocabulary from texts about wild animals
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 1–January 7, 2022
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The 10% tariffs are set to expire in July, and the ruling is limited to only small businesses and the states that had sued, including Oregon, California, New York and Illinois.
From MarketWatch • May 7, 2026
Most of the recalled items are set to expire in August 2026.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
That plan, commonly known as a poison pill, is set to expire May 18.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
They can expire worthless, and investors inexperienced with trading them should treat them with caution.
From Barron's • May 4, 2026
Jefferson had also shared with Madison his intriguingly utopian suggestion that each generation was sovereign, so that the laws made for one generation should expire after about twenty years.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
