expire

Imagine a carton of milk in your fridge. It doesn't last forever, does it? Eventually, the date on the side is reached, and people often say it has expired. To expire means to reach the end of the time when something is allowed, safe, or usable. A passport can expire, a coupon can expire, and in a more formal or literary sense, even a person can expire.

You might say your driver's license will expire next year, meaning you'll need to renew it before then. Or, if a deal is only good for a limited time, it will expire on a certain date. The word is mostly used for dates, documents, agreements, offers, foods, and medicines.

To expire means to come to an end or cease to be valid, often after a specific period of time. It's most commonly used in relation to things that have a limited lifespan or legal validity. Think about a warranty on a product—it expires after a certain amount of time, meaning the manufacturer is no longer responsible for repairs.

You'll frequently hear "expire" when people talk about official documents like passports, driver's licenses, or visas. For example: "My passport expires in six months, so I need to renew it before my trip." It also applies to food and medicine that pass the date printed on the package, although in exact use the item itself may spoil, lose strength, or no longer be recommended for use.

But "expire" isn't limited to physical items. It can also describe rules, contracts, subscriptions, or agreements that reach their official end. "The ceasefire agreement expired without a lasting peace" means the formal time limit of the agreement ended. In formal or literary English, it can also mean "to die," based on the old image of breathing one's last breath.

Historically, the word comes from the Latin exspirare, meaning "to breathe out." This hints at the idea of something reaching its natural conclusion or "breathing its last." So, whether it's a legal document, a carton of milk, or a fleeting emotion—when something expires, it reaches its end point and is no longer in effect.