Dictionary.com

expire

[ ik-spahyuhr ]
/ ɪkˈspaɪər /
Save This Word!
See synonyms for: expire / expired 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.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of expire

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

OTHER WORDS FROM expire

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use expire in a sentence

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 forms of expire

expirer, 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
FEEDBACK