expire

Everyday

1. When something expires, it stops being valid or usable after a certain time, like a ticket, card or password. tree →
2. Food or medicine that has expired is past the date it is safe or best to use. tree →
3. In old or formal English, to expire means to die. tree →
4. When a sound or echo expires, it fades away and stops being heard. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life tickets, passports, library loans, coupons and food expire; families check «use by» and «expiry» dates. In stories the word sometimes means a character dies. Phrases: «the ticket has expired», «expiry date», «out of date».

Examples

• My bus pass expired last week. tree →
• Check the milk; it might have expired. tree →
• The coupon expires at the end of the month. tree →
• Your password has expired; please make a new one. tree →
• Don't take medicine that has expired. tree →
• The parking time expired, so they got a ticket. tree →
• In the old story, the knight expired after the battle. tree →
• And the horn sounded faint and more faintly, and the convent bell drowned its expiring echoes." tree →

Note

Regular verb. Noun: «expiry» (UK) or «expiration» (US). Food past its «best before» date may still be fine, but food past its «use by» date is not safe; medicine past its expiry date should go back to a pharmacy.

In Jewish tradition

In everyday life tickets, passports, library loans, coupons and food expire; families check «use by» and «expiry» dates. In stories the word sometimes means a character dies. Phrases: «the ticket has expired», «expiry date», «out of date».

Examples

• It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →

Note

Regular verb. Noun: «expiry» (UK) or «expiration» (US). Food past its «best before» date may still be fine, but food past its «use by» date is not safe; medicine past its expiry date should go back to a pharmacy.