expire

See also: expiré

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French expirer, from Latin exspīrō, exspīrāre, from ex- (“out”) + spīrō, spīrāre (“breathe, be alive”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪkˈspaɪə(ɹ)/, /ɛkˈspaɪə(ɹ)/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: ex‧pire

Verb

expire (third-person singular simple present expires, present participle expiring, simple past and past participle expired)

1. (intransitive) To die.

   The patient expired in hospital.

   • 1833, R. J. Bertin, Charles W. Chauncy, transl., Treatise on the Diseases of the Heart, and Great Vessels, Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Blnachard, page 185:

     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.

2. (intransitive) To lapse and become invalid.

   My library card will expire next week.

3. (transitive, intransitive) To exhale; to breathe out.
   • 1672 Gideon Harvey, Morbus Anglicus, Or, The Anatomy of Consumptions

     Anatomy exhibits the lungs in a continual motion of inspiring and expiring air.

   • 1717, John Dryden, Meleager and Atalanta

     This chafed the boar; his nostrils flames expire.

   • 1843, Loring Dudley Chapin

     Animals expire carbon and plants inspire it; plants expire oxygen and animals inspire it.

4. (transitive) To give forth insensibly or gently, as a fluid or vapour; to emit in minute particles.
   • 1631, [Francis Bacon], “(please specify |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] VVilliam Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], OCLC 1044372886:

     the expiring of cold out of the inward parts of the earth in winter

5. (transitive) To bring to a close; to terminate.

   • c. 1591–1595, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene iv]:

     Expire the term
     Of a despised life.

Synonyms

• (to die): See also Thesaurus:die

Antonyms

• (to exhale): inspire

Derived terms

• expiration
• expiry
• expiree

Related terms

• inspire
• respiration
• respire
• spirit

Translations

die — see die

become invalid

• Bulgarian: изтичам (bg) (iztičam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 失效 (zh) (shīxiào)

• Danish: udløbe
• Dutch: aflopen (nl), vervallen (nl), verstrijken (nl), verlopen (nl)
• French: expirer (fr)
• German: ablaufen (de), erlöschen (de), verfallen (de)
• Hungarian: lejár (hu), érvényét veszti
• Indonesian: kedaluwarsa (id)
• Japanese: 失効する (ja) (shikkō suru)

• Maori: mōnehu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: utløpe

• Polish: wygasnąć
• Portuguese: vencer (pt), expirar (pt)
• Russian: истека́ть (ru) impf (istekátʹ), исте́чь (ru) pf (istéčʹ)
• Sicilian: scàdiri, spiriri (scn)
• Spanish: vencer (es), caducar (es)
• Swedish: gå ut (sv), löpa ut
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

exhale — see exhale

to exhale (something)

• Bulgarian: изпускам (bg) (izpuskam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 呼出 (zh) (hūchū)

• Dutch: uitademen (nl), uitblazen (nl)
• German: ausatmen (de)
• Hungarian: kilehel (hu), kifúj

Anagrams

• prexie

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French

Verb

expire

1. first-person singular present indicative of expirer
2. third-person singular present indicative of expirer
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of expirer
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of expirer
5. second-person singular imperative of expirer

Anagrams

• expier

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Portuguese

Verb

expire

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of expirar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of expirar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of expirar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of expirar

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Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ekˈspire]

Verb

expire

1. third-person singular present subjunctive of expira
2. third-person plural present subjunctive of expira

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Spanish

Verb

expire

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of expirar.
2. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of expirar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of expirar.