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 — 動詞

  • 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

1.動詞不及物B1
釋義

到期；失效

有效期限結束，不再可用

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.

例句

Ada's passport will expire next June, so she needs to renew it before her trip.

Ada 的護照明年六月到期，所以她需要在出國前辦理換發。

collocation: passport / visa / license expires

The gym membership expired last month, so Dewi cannot use the facilities anymore.

健身房會員資格上個月到期了，所以 Dewi 無法再使用那些設施。

subject = membership / subscription

同義詞
  • lapse

    more specific to insurance, legal rights, or memberships ending because payments stopped

  • run out

    informal; can apply to supplies or time, not just documents

  • end

    most general; does not carry the sense of legal validity

  • terminate

    more formal; can be transitive or intransitive, often used for contracts

反義詞
  • renew

    to make something valid again for a new period

  • extend

    to make a period or deadline longer

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

❌My passport expired last year, so I can still use it for domestic flights.
✅My passport expired last year, so I can no longer use it for any travel.
💡An expired document is no longer valid; you cannot keep using it.
❌I expired my gym membership.
✅My gym membership expired.
💡'expire' is intransitive; you cannot expire something. The thing itself expires.

2. To stop living — a formal or literary word for 'die', often used to suggest a ca

2.動詞不及物C1
釋義

逝世；辭世

委婉地表示死亡

To stop living — a formal or literary word for 'die', often used to suggest a calm, peaceful, or dignified passing.

例句

The old king expired peacefully in his sleep at the age of ninety-four.

老國王在睡夢中安詳地辭世，享年九十四歲。

formal / literary register — peaceful context

Family records show Lord Ashworth expired in the winter of 1842 after a long illness.

家族紀錄顯示，阿什沃斯勛爵在長期患病後，於1842年冬季逝世。

同義詞
  • die

    neutral, most common word; fits any context

  • pass away

    respectful and gentle; very common in modern English for people

  • perish

    formal or literary; often suggests a violent or untimely death

反義詞

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

❌My goldfish expired last night.
✅My goldfish died last night.
💡'expire' for pets or animals sounds unnatural and overly formal; use 'die' or 'pass away' for pets.
❌He expired in a car crash.
✅He died in a car crash.
💡'expire' suggests a gentle, natural end; for sudden or violent deaths, 'die' is more appropriate.

3. To push air out of your lungs; to breathe out — used mainly in medical, scientif

3.動詞及物 / 不及物C1
釋義

呼氣；吐氣

將空氣從肺部排出

To push air out of your lungs; to breathe out — used mainly in medical, scientific, or yoga contexts as a technical alternative to 'exhale'.

例句

The doctor asked the patient to expire slowly into a meter that measures lung capacity.

醫生請病人慢慢對著測量肺活量的儀器呼氣。

medical context: expire into [device]

The yoga teacher asked the class to expire all the air from their lungs.

瑜伽老師請全班同學把肺部所有的空氣都呼出來。

transitive: expire + all the air

同義詞
  • exhale

    the standard, everyday word for breathing out

  • breathe out

    the most common and informal way to express this action

反義詞

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.

常見錯誤

❌Please expire deeply before the next exercise.
✅Please exhale deeply before the next exercise.
💡'expire' as 'exhale' is very technical; 'exhale' is the natural choice in general contexts.
❌She expired through her mouth.
✅She breathed out through her mouth.
💡Without a medical or yoga setting, this sentence could be misunderstood as sense 2 (she died).