expire

[ik-spahyuh r]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR expire ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), ex·pired, ex·pir·ing.

to come to an end; terminate, as a contract, guarantee, or offer.

to emit the last breath; die.

to breathe out.

to die out, as a fire.

verb (used with object), ex·pired, ex·pir·ing.

to breathe out; emit (air) from the lungs.

Archaic. to give off, emit, or eject.

Origin of expire

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin ex(s)pīrāre to breathe out, equivalent to ex- ex-¹ + spīrāre to breathe

Related formsex·pir·er, nounex·pir·ing·ly, adverbnon·ex·pir·ing, adjectiveun·ex·pired, adjectiveun·ex·pir·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for expire

quit, finish, depart, conclude, die, lapse, terminate, cease, pass, close, decease, elapse, end, perish, stop, go, croak, exhale, emit, expel

Examples from the Web for expire

Contemporary Examples of expire

Higher courts, including the Supreme Court had refused to intercede, and the stay was to expire tonight.
The Back Alley, Low Blow-Ridden Fight to Stop Gay Marriage in Florida Is Finally Over
Jay Michaelson
January 5, 2015
The temporary reduction of Social Security payroll taxes was allowed to expire in early 2013.
The Battle of the Deficit Bulge Has Been Won
Daniel Gross
October 6, 2014
Those negotiations are set to expire at the end of November.
Iran Orders Elite Troops: Lay Off U.S. Forces in Iraq
Eli Lake
October 6, 2014
Advocates stress that vets would suffer if the program were to expire in September.
Dysfunctional Congress Prepares to Claim Another Victim: Injured Veterans
Tim Mak
July 23, 2014
Patents, may I remind you, expire after 20 years, but copyrights to recordings can be enforced for a century or more.
Apple Wants Beats So It Can Control You
Ted Gioia
May 12, 2014

Historical Examples of expire

Or if some victim must expire, strike here, and I will thank thee.
Imogen
William Godwin
The corporal's leave did not expire till the evening of the following day.
A Nest of Spies
Pierre Souvestre
He was hunted like a wild beast, till ready to expire with fatigue.
Fox's Book of Martyrs
John Foxe
Rosseter's lease of the building was to expire in the following year.
Shakespearean Playhouses
Joseph Quincy Adams
Mr. Adams's term of service in the Senate was to expire on March 3, 1809.
John Quincy Adams
John. T. Morse

British Dictionary definitions for expire

expire

verb

(intr) to finish or run out; cease; come to an end

to breathe out (air); exhale

(intr) to die

Derived Formsexpirer, noun

Word Origin for expire

C15: from Old French expirer, from Latin exspīrāre to breathe out, from spīrāre to breathe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for expire

c.1400, "to die," from Middle French expirer (12c.) "expire, elapse," from Latin expirare/exspirare "breathe out, breathe one's last, die," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + spirare "to breathe" (see spirit). "Die" is the older sense in English; that of "breathe out" is first attested 1580s. Of laws, patents, treaties, etc., mid-15c. Related: Expired; expiring.

expire in Medicine

expire

[ĭk-spīr′]

v.

To breathe one's last breath; die.

To exhale.