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

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

The disease can also lower crop yields and shorten shelf life, making it a costly challenge for mushroom farms across the United States.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

“But if you’re a debt investor relying on compute power as collateral? I mean, historically, that’s an asset that’s had the shelf life of lettuce.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

"We don't have the ability to stockpile blood super far in advance because blood does have a finite shelf life, it does expire," she said.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

There are cheeses with a longer shelf life.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

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