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expire

 - 5 dictionary results

ex⋅pire

  [ik-spahyuhr] verb, -pired, -pir⋅ing.
Use expire in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to come to an end; terminate, as a contract, guarantee, or offer.
2. to emit the last breath; die.
3. to breathe out.
4. to die out, as a fire.
–verb (used with object)
5. to breathe out; emit (air) from the lungs.
6. Archaic. to give off, emit, or eject.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME < L ex(s)pīrāre to breathe out, equiv. to ex- ex- 1 + spīrāre to breathe

Related forms:
ex⋅pir⋅er, noun
ex⋅pir⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To expire
ex·pire   (ĭk-spīr')   
v.   ex·pired, ex·pir·ing, ex·pires

v.   intr.

  1. To come to an end; terminate: My membership in the club has expired.

  2. To breathe one's last breath; die: The patient expired early this morning.

  3. To exhale; breathe out.

v.   tr.

  1. To breathe (something) out.

  2. Archaic To give (something) off.


[Middle English expiren, from Old French expirer, from Latin exspīrāre : ex-, ex- + spīrāre, to breathe.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

expire 
1419, 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 Eng.; that of "breathe out" is first attested 1590. Of laws, patents, treaties, etc., c.1477.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ex·pire
Pronunciation: ik-'spI(&)r, oftenest for vi 2 and vt ek-
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: ex·pired;ex·pir·ing
intransitive senses
1 : to breathe one's last breath : DIE
2 : to emit the breath expire transitive senses
: to breathe out from or as if from the lungs expired by the lungs —J. D. Ratcliff>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

expire ex·pire (ĭk-spīr')
v. ex·pired, ex·pir·ing, ex·pires

  1. To breathe one's last breath; die.

  2. To exhale.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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