Synonyms

shelf life

American

noun

the term or period during which a stored commodity remains effective, useful, or suitable for consumption.

Many medicines have a very short shelf life.

shelf life British

noun

the length of time a packaged food, chemical, etc, will last without deteriorating

"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

Etymology

Origin of shelf life

First recorded in 1925–30

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.

See Examples For:

shelf life

Canned cocktails also have a shorter shelf life than full-strength spirits, and the velocity of sales is higher.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

May you outlast the shelf life of a carton of milk.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Fresh pasteurised milk, which has a shorter shelf life, had been more affected than the more long-life UHT milk, he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

They are typically made with refined fats, oils, sugars, starches, salts, and other additives designed to improve flavor, texture, and shelf life, often while lowering nutritional quality.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026

It hadn’t occurred to me that I could suddenly blink into nothingness like a crashed computer with not even two years used up on my shelf life.

From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023