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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Expire: Definition, Usage, and Key Examples (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：run out (expire)

expire 🔊

/ɪkˈspaɪər/

When something like a document, contract, or permission reaches its end date and is no longer valid or usable.

Expire definition illustrated by an expired membership card with a past validity date.

run out 🔊

➕

/rʌn aʊt/

To reach the end of a predetermined period of validity, after which something is no longer effective or legally acceptable.

📁 Category：Laws & Regulations 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'exspirare' ('ex-' meaning 'out' + 'spirare' meaning 'to breathe').

💡 Mnemonic

Think: 'EX'it after your 'SPIRE' of life or validity runs out.

📖 Example

I couldn't enter the museum because my student ID had expired last month. 🔊 My access was denied due to an invalid student identification card.

🔗 Collocations

expire on – to become invalid on a specific date

expiring soon – approaching the end of its validity period

license expires – a permit or authorization reaches its end date

🔄 Synonyms

lapse (v.) – to become no longer valid because a period of time has passed

run out (v.) – to reach an end or become depleted, often used for time-limited items

terminate (v.) – to bring to an end, often formally or as specified by terms

🚫 Antonyms

renew (v.) – to extend the period of validity for something

valid (adj.) – legally or officially acceptable; not expired

🌱 Derivatives

expiry (n.) – the end of the period for which something is valid

expiration (n.) – the ending of the fixed period for which a contract, etc., is valid

📖 Cultural Story

The Latin root 'exspirare' literally meant 'to breathe out'. In ancient Roman thought, one's last breath marked death. This evolved into the dual meanings: legal/business documents 'breathing their last' (reaching an end date), and life itself ending.

Meaning 2：come to an end (expire)

expire 🔊

/ɪkˈspaɪər/

To come to an end, especially life; to die. It can also mean for something to stop existing or functioning.

come to an end 🔊

➕

/kʌm tu ən end/

To cease to exist or continue; to reach a natural conclusion, often in a quiet or unremarkable way.

📁 Category：Culture & History 🔖 Level：Advanced

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

The old tradition expired quietly as younger generations moved to the cities. 🔊 The customary practice faded away with the migration of youth to urban areas.

🔗 Collocations

expire peacefully – to come to an end or die in a calm and undisturbed manner

lease expires – a rental agreement reaches its termination date

🔄 Synonyms

cease (v.) – to bring or come to an end; stop

perish (v.) – to die, especially in a violent or untimely way (more literary/formal)

end (v.) – to bring or come to a final point; stop

🚫 Antonyms

begin (v.) – to start; to come into being

persist (v.) – to continue to exist or endure