Expire Meaning
/ɪkˈspaɪə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo die.
verbTo lapse and become invalid.
Sentence Examples
My driver's license will expire next week.
The contract will expire soon.
When does your driving licence expire?
CEFR Practice Quiz
Your passport will ____ next year, so you should renew it soon.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Your library card will ____ next month, so you will need to renew it at the main desk.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English expire, from Middle French expirer, from Latin expīrō, exspīrō, from ex- (“out”) + spīrō (“breathe, be alive”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And then, his head ſinking on his pillow, he expired; at about half an hour after ten."
— 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter CXIII”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume VII, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […], →OCLC, page 415:
"Hippolita, ſcarce more alive than her daughter, was regardleſs of every thing but her: but when the tender Iſabella’s care would have likewiſe removed her, while the ſurgeons examined Matilda’s wound, ſhe cried, remove me! never! never! I lived but in her, and will expire with her."
— 1764 December 24 (indicated as 1765), Onuphrio Muralto, translated by William Marshal [pseudonyms; Horace Walpole], chapter V, in The Castle of Otranto, […], London: […] Tho[mas] Lownds […], →OCLC, pages 190–191:
"Soon the patient had no longer sufficient strength to sit up; the trunk of the body was inclined to the right side, the head high and thrown backward, the mouth wide open: she seemed to stifle rather than respire: lastly, speech and respiration failed her; she uttered, however, in a feeble voice, some incoherent words, said she felt she was dying, and, accordingly, expired the sixth day after entrance."
— 1833, R. J. Bertin, translated by Charles W. Chauncy, Treatise on the Diseases of the Heart, and Great Vessels, Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Blnachard, page 185:
"People bled to death like gentlemen in an operating room or expired without comment in an oxygen tent."
— 1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 168:
"And when the thousand yeeres are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, […]"
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 20:7:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Your passport will ____ next year, so you should renew it soon.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Your library card will ____ next month, so you will need to renew it at the main desk.