expired

/ɪkˈspaɪər/ (bre, ipa) · [ɪkspˈaɪrd] /ɪkˈspaɪr/ (ame, ipa) · /ɪkˈspaɪəd/ (bre, ipa) · [ɪkspˈaɪrd] /ɪkˈspaɪərd/ (ame, ipa) · [ɪkspˈaɪrd] /ik-ˈspī(-ə)rd ek-/ (ame, mw)

expired — verb

  • expiredpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • expireds3rd person singular
  • expireding-ing form
  • expirededpast simple

1. When a document, contract, membership, or other time-limited arrangement reaches

1.動詞不及物B1
釋義

When a document, contract, membership, or other time-limited arrangement reaches the end of its allowed period and is no longer usable or in effect.

例句

Benjamin discovered his passport had expired the day before his flight to Japan.

intransitive: passport / visa + expire

Layla tried to use her student discount, but the membership card had already expired.

同義詞
  • run out

    more informal, used for time or supplies rather than official documents

  • lapse

    implies a gap or interruption; common for insurance or subscriptions when a payment is missed

  • become void

    more formal, focusing on the legal loss of validity

反義詞
  • be valid

    opposite in meaning — something that is still within its time limit

  • be in date

    British informal; a ticket or passport that has not yet expired

文法句型

[document/contract/membership] + expire

用法筆記

Intransitive only — you cannot 'expire' something. Use 'let expire' or 'allow to expire' for active cancellation without renewal.

常見錯誤

❌I expired my credit card.
✅My credit card expired.
💡Expire is intransitive; the subject is the thing that runs out, not the person causing it.
❌The milk has expired.
✅The milk has gone bad.
💡For food, use 'go bad' or 'be off'; 'expire' describes contracts, documents, and memberships with set time limits.

2. To stop living; to die, especially in a quiet or peaceful way. Used in formal, l

2.動詞不及物B2
釋義

To stop living; to die, especially in a quiet or peaceful way. Used in formal, literary, or clinical contexts.

例句

The old horse expired peacefully in the meadow at the age of thirty-two.

formal euphemism: expire = die (used for animals in formal writing)

According to the novel, the king expired in his sleep during the cold winter of 1642.

同義詞
  • pass away

    more common and gentler for human death; far more natural in conversation

  • die

    neutral and direct; the everyday word for ceasing to live

  • perish

    more dramatic or literary; often used for death by violence or disaster

反義詞
  • be born

    fundamental opposite — the beginning of life

  • survive

    to continue living despite danger or illness

文法句型

[person/animal] + expire

用法筆記

This sense is markedly formal or euphemistic. In everyday conversation about family or friends, 'pass away' or 'die' is much more natural than 'expire'.

常見錯誤

❌My grandmother expired last night.
✅My grandmother passed away last night.
💡Using 'expire' for a close relative sounds cold and clinical; use a gentler expression.

3. To release air from the lungs; to exhale. Used in medical, scientific, or techni

3.動詞及物 / 不及物C1
釋義

To release air from the lungs; to exhale. Used in medical, scientific, or technical descriptions of breathing.

例句

The yoga teacher instructed the class to expire slowly through the mouth over four counts.

technical: expire = breathe out (counted breathing)

Hassan took a deep breath and expired the air in a steady stream for the test.

transitive: expire + air

同義詞
  • exhale

    the standard, widely understood term for breathing air out

  • breathe out

    more informal and common in everyday speech

反義詞
  • inhale

    to take air into the lungs; the opposite action

  • breathe in

    the everyday opposite of breathe out

文法句型

expire + [air/CO₂]

expire through + [mouth/nose]

用法筆記

This is a technical sense found mostly in physiology, medicine, and formal descriptions of respiration. In everyday English, 'breathe out' or 'exhale' is far more common and widely understood.

常見錯誤

❌The doctor told me to expire.
✅The doctor told me to breathe out.
💡Most English speakers would not understand 'expire' to mean exhale; use 'breathe out' or 'exhale' in general conversation.

expired — adjective