expire

verb

ex·​pire ik-ˈspī(-ə)r 

 usually for intransitive sense 3 and transitive sense 2  ek-

expired; expiring

intransitive verb

1

: to breathe one's last breath : die

2

: to come to an end: such as

a

: to exceed its period of validity

The contract will expire next month.

b

: to pass its expiration date (see expiration date sense 2)

This milk has expired.

" … when drugs expire, you can't just leave these things lying around."

—Ed Haislmaier

3

: to emit the breath

transitive verb

1

obsolete : conclude

2

: to breathe out from or as if from the lungs

3

archaic : emit

Synonyms

• break off
• break up
• cease
• close
• conclude
• dead-end
• determine
• die
• discontinue
• elapse
• end
• finish
• go
• halt
• lapse
• leave off
• let up
• pass
• quit
• stop
• terminate
• wind up
• wink (out)

Examples of expire in a Sentence

My driver's license has expired.

She expired after a long illness.

measuring the volume of air expired from the lungs

Recent Examples on the Web

On a 14-0 vote, the council agreed to use city funds to limit rent increases for the next 10 years at the Hillside Villa Apartments, where residents have been in a battle with their landlord since 2019, when previous restrictions on the building’s rents expired. —David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2024

Popular on Variety The contract was set to expire on Friday, and writers were set to begin picketing next week if an agreement had not been reached. —William Earl, Variety, 20 Apr. 2024

The rule was set to expire next year after the state temporarily authorized the sale of to-go alcoholic drinks during the pandemic. —Maysoon Khan, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024

The lease began on March 29, which would indicate that the rental agreement would expire in 2035. —George Avalos, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024

If not enough property owners sign on before the end of May, the city won’t be able to set up the district until 2026, meaning there won’t be funding to support the ambassador program after its year-long contract expires in mid-2025. —Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Apr. 2024

Homelessness rose 12% from 2022 to 2023, its highest level since tracking began in 2007, the report found, as housing prices soared and pandemic-era assistance programs expired. —Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024

The 56-year-old president clung to life for nine agonizing hours, expiring the next morning in a cramped room rented by Union veteran Willie Clark. —Brian Matthew Jordan, National Review, 14 Apr. 2024

Davies, too, is a masterpiece of patience: Real Madrid will present Bayern Munich with the choice of losing him for a fee this summer, or for nothing when his contract expires in 2025. —Rory Smith, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Anglo-French espirer to breathe out, from Latin exspirare, from ex- + spirare to breathe

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Kids Definition

expire

verb

ex·​pire ik-ˈspī(ə)r 

 usually for sense 3  ek-

expired; expiring

1

: to breathe one's last breath : die

2

: to come to an end : be no longer in force

this offer expires March 1

my driver's license has expired

3

a

: to let the breath out

b

: to breathe out from or as if from the lungs

Medical Definition

expire

verb

ex·​pire

ik-ˈspī(ə)r, usually for vi 2 and vt ek-

expired; expiring

intransitive verb

1

: to breathe one's last breath : die

2

: to emit the breath

transitive verb

: to breathe out from or as if from the lungs

the basal metabolism test … measures the amount of carbon dioxide expired by the lungs

—J. D. Ratcliff