expire
/ɪkˈspaɪə(r)/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪkˈspaɪər/ (ame, ipa) · /ik-ˈspī(-ə)r usually for intransitive sense 3 and transitive sense 2 ek-/ (ame, mw)
expire — verb
- expirepresent simple I / you / we / they
- expireshe / she / it
- expiredpast simple
- expiring-ing form
1. An official document, membership, or agreement that can only be used for a set p
An official document, membership, or agreement that can only be used for a set period expires when that period ends and can no longer serve its purpose.
Ada's passport will expire next June, so she needs to renew it before her trip.
collocation: passport / visa / license expires
The gym membership expired last month, so Dewi cannot use the facilities anymore.
subject = membership / subscription
The contract between the two companies expires this year and will not be renewed.
Ayana's passport expired last week, so she could not board her flight.
The special offer expires on Friday, so decide before then if you want the discount.
文法句型
subject (document/contract/period) + expire
用法筆記
Subject is always a thing (document, membership, period, offer) — never a person. The word implies a fixed end date that was set in advance. Distinguish from sense 2, which applies to living beings.
常見錯誤
2. To stop living — a formal or literary word for 'die', often used to suggest a ca
To stop living — a formal or literary word for 'die', often used to suggest a calm, peaceful, or dignified passing.
The old king expired peacefully in his sleep at the age of ninety-four.
formal / literary register — peaceful context
Family records show Lord Ashworth expired in the winter of 1842 after a long illness.
The wounded soldier expired on the battlefield before the medics could reach him.
The elderly novelist expired quietly in her Kyoto home, surrounded by her children.
文法句型
subject (person/animal) + expire
用法筆記
Restricted to formal writing, literature, historical accounts, or journalism. In everyday conversation, 'die' or 'pass away' is far more natural. The term carries a respectful or solemn tone and is almost never used for animals or in casual contexts.
常見錯誤
3. To push air out of your lungs; to breathe out — used mainly in medical, scientif
To push air out of your lungs; to breathe out — used mainly in medical, scientific, or yoga contexts as a technical alternative to 'exhale'.
The doctor asked the patient to expire slowly into a meter that measures lung capacity.
medical context: expire into [device]
The yoga teacher asked the class to expire all the air from their lungs.
transitive: expire + all the air
Imran took a deep breath and then expired slowly through his mouth.
The swimmer learned to expire underwater through his nose to avoid swallowing water during practice.
- exhale
the standard, everyday word for breathing out
- breathe out
the most common and informal way to express this action
- inhale
to breathe air in
- breathe in
common alternative for inhaling
文法句型
expire + air/breath (transitive)
subject + expire (intransitive: breathe out)
用法筆記
Much less common than 'exhale' or 'breathe out' in everyday English. The transitive form ('expire air' or 'expire breath') is particularly rare and mostly encountered in physiology textbooks or clinical instructions.