ENGLISH
REFERENCE

expire

v.
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ɪkˈspaɪɹ// UK //ɛkspˈaɪə// ex·pire

v. to come to an end or stop being valid. You use this when a contract, a document, or food reaches its final date.

v. to reach the end of a fixed period of validity; to terminate or cease to be effective. Intransitive — does not take a direct object.


SIMPLE

My passport will expire next month.

CONTEXTUAL

The software license is set to expire at midnight, so we must renew it today to avoid a service interruption.

COMPLEX

Although the initial offer was generous, the terms stipulated that the price would expire if the contract was not signed within forty-eight hours of the initial meeting.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From Middle English expire, from Middle French expirer, from Latin expīrō, exspīrō, from ex- (“out”) + spīrō (“breathe, be alive”).

Usage

The verb is intransitive and does not take a direct object; it is frequently used with 'on' or 'at' to specify a time.

Pitfall

The milk was expiredThe milk had expiredExpire is an intransitive verb; while 'expired' can act as an adjective, it is more standard to use the active voice to describe the end of validity.

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