expiry

IPA/ɪkˈspaɪəri/
KK[ˌɛkspˈaɪri]IPA/ɪkˈspaɪəri/

expiry — noun

1. the point when a document, product, agreement, or fixed period is no longer vali

1.nounB2
Definition

the point when a document, product, agreement, or fixed period is no longer valid or safe to use

Example

Beatriz renewed her student visa a week before its expiry date.

expiry date — common document collocation

The yogurt was still cold, but its expiry date was yesterday.

expiry date for food labels

Common collocations
  • expiry date
  • card expiry
  • lease expiry
  • policy expiry
  • before expiry
  • past its expiry date
Synonyms
  • expiration

    Nearly the same meaning, but more common in American English and on technical labels

  • termination

    More formal and often used for contracts or services that are officially ended

  • end

    Much broader and less specific; it does not imply formal validity

Antonyms
  • renewal

    Refers to extending the period so the document or agreement stays valid

  • extension

    Focuses on extra time being added before the end point arrives

Grammar Patterns

expiry of + document/agreement/period

before expiry

[product/card] + expiry date

Usage Note

This sense usually appears with something that has a fixed period of validity, such as a visa, card, lease, medicine, or policy. In everyday English, expiry date is much more common than bare expiry when people talk about food or packaged products.

Common Mistakes

My passport is in expiry next month.
My passport expires next month.
Expiry is a noun here, so use expire for the action.
The milk is over expiry.
The milk is past its expiry date.
Past its expiry date is the natural phrase for food or medicine.

2. death, especially in legal, ceremonial, or old-fashioned writing

2.nounC1
Definition

death, especially in legal, ceremonial, or old-fashioned writing

Example

The will took effect immediately on Siraj's expiry at the hospital.

formal use in legal writing

The newspaper announced the poet's expiry after a long illness.

Synonyms
  • death

    The neutral and normal modern word

  • passing

    Softer and more respectful, often used in careful speech

  • decease

    Very formal and mostly limited to legal or official writing

Grammar Patterns

on + someone's + expiry

after + someone's + expiry

Usage Note

This sense is rare in modern everyday English and is mostly found in legal documents, obituaries, and older writing. In ordinary conversation, people usually say death or passing instead.

Common Mistakes

We were sad about her expiry.
We were sad about her death.
Expiry for a person sounds formal or old-fashioned, not natural in everyday speech.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Expiry is common in British-style English for the moment something stops being valid, especially cards, visas, food, medicines, and insurance policies. Expiration usually means the same thing, but it is more common in American English and in technical labels such as expiration date. Deadline is different: it is the latest time by which you must do something, not the moment a document or product loses validity. Termination is more formal and often refers to a contract, service, or agreement being officially ended, sometimes by a person or organization. You can miss a deadline, but a passport, lease, or carton of milk reaches its expiry.

expiration ↗deadline ↗termination ↗

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Expiry comes from the verb expire, which entered English through French from Latin expirare, originally meaning 'breathe out'. From the older idea of a final breath, English later developed the broader meaning 'come to an end', which explains why expiry can refer both to death and to a document or period ending.