expire

See also: expiré

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪkˈspaɪ.ə(ɹ)/, /ɛkˈspaɪ.ə(ɹ)/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)

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.

2. (intransitive) to become invalid

   My library card will expire next week.

3. (intransitive) to exhale; to breathe (out).
   • Harvey

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

   • Dryden

     This chafed the boar; his nostrils flames expire.

4. (transitive) to exhale (something).
   • 1843, Loring Dudley Chapin

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

5. (transitive) To give forth insensibly or gently, as a fluid or vapour; to emit in minute particles.
   • Francis Bacon

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

6. (transitive) To bring to a close; to terminate.
   • Shakespeare

     Expire the term / Of a despised life.

Synonyms

• (to die): See also Wikisaurus: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)
• 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)
• 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)

Anagrams

• prexie

---

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

---

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

---

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.