Definition of
Expire
- (verb, body) expel air
- (verb, change) pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
The children perished in the fire
The patient went peacefully
The old guy kicked the bucket at the age of 102 - (verb, stative) lose validity
via WordNet, Princeton University
Synonyms of Expire
breathe out, buy the farm, cash in one's chips, choke, conk, croak, decease, die, drop dead, exhale, exit, give-up the ghost, go, kick the bucket, pass, pass away, perish, pop off, run out, snuff it
Alternate forms of Expire
Derivations: expiration, expiratory
Hyponyms: abort, asphyxiate, blow, buy it, drown, fall, famish, pip out, predecease, snort, starve, stifle, succumb, suffocate, yield
Hypernyms: breathe, change state, discontinue, respire, suspire, take a breath, turn
Origin of the word Expire
- early 15c., from M.Fr. expirer, from L. expirare "breathe out, breathe one's last, die," from ex- "out" + spirare "to breathe" (see spirit). "Die" is the older sense in English; that of "breathe out" is first attested 1580s. Of laws, patents, treaties, etc., late 15c. Related: Expired; expiring. more
via Online Etymology Dictionary, ©2001 Douglas Harper