expired

1 of 2

adjective

ex·​pired ik-ˈspī(-ə)rd 

ek-

1

formal : dead, deceased

—often used as a euphemistic or humorous alternative to dead

A shovel, bucket, trash bags, and gloves are also useful items for cleaning up expired wildlife.

—Jeffrey Price and Jeffrey Forrest

… I've exercised my maternal instincts on him, doing a far better job of keeping him alive than all those expired plants now in the great compost pile in the sky.

—Kerry Quinn

There, firmly lodged within the pipe and obstructing the flow of water, was a catfish. The expired creature was removed, brought on board, and mounted in the main passenger cabin for all to see.

—John Laurence Busch

2

: no longer valid : having exceeded its period of validity

expired licenses

an expired contract

… Mr. Adams uses homemade software to download online books with expired copyrights …

—Michael M. Phillips

3

: having passed its expiration date (see expiration date sense 2)

expired milk

expired drugs

… networks that now take us into the homes of people who treasure their expired tuna cans more than they do their children …

—Carina Chocano

4

: emitted as or in a person's breath : breathed out

… the person exhales into a container at regular intervals and technicians measure the amount of hydrogen in the expired air.

—Colleen Sauber

expired

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of expire

Synonyms of expired

Adjective

• defunct
• extinct
• vanished
• gone

Examples of expired in a Sentence

Adjective

a wildlife organization dedicated to ensuring that the giant panda not be added to the list of expired species

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Not only can throwing these items away keep your home functional by not keeping expired items on hand, but Jones says this also helps to reduce the visual clutter as well. — Ashlyn Needham, The Spruce, 17 Sep. 2026

Updating your medicine cabinet will take care of any expired medications and reduce needless excess. — Louise Parks, Martha Stewart, 16 Sep. 2026

Hall was initially hit with a $92 fine for an expired permit. — Karen Morfitt, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026

Those efforts now appear to also target people with expired visas, a far larger group than those with deportation orders. — Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 31 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1631, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for expired

• reacquired
• aspired
• attired
• retired
• mired
• quired
• spired