expire
[ ik-spahyuh r ]
/ ɪkˈspaɪər /
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.
Nearby words
Origin of expire
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin ex(s)pīrāre to breathe out, equivalent to ex- ex-1 + spīrāre to breathe
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for expire
British Dictionary definitions for expire
expire
/ (ɪkˈspaɪə) /
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
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for expire
expire
[ ĭk-spīr′ ]
v.
To breathe one's last breath; die.
To exhale.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.