expire
ex·pire/ɪkˈspaɪə(ɹ)/verb
expire is spelled E-X-P-I-R-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (ex·pire). It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, expire means “To die” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in expire?
| Letters | 6: E-X-P-I-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: ex·pire |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 14,106th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is expire?
Expire appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce expire?
- /ɪkˈspaɪə(ɹ)/
- /ɛkˈspaɪə(ɹ)/
Expire has 2 syllables, split ex·pire in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-expire.oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of expire
- expires present, singular, he/she/it
- expiring participle, present
- expired participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does expire mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To die.
The patient expired in hospital.
- 2
To lapse and become invalid.
My library card will expire next week.
- 3
To come to an end; to conclude.
- 4
To exhale; to breathe out.
- 5
To give forth insensibly or gently, as a fluid or vapour; to emit in minute particles.
- 6
To bring to a close; to terminate.
- 7
To cause to lapse; to invalidate.
The site expires cached pages that are older than 24 hours.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Expire in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | expirer, périmer |
| German | ablaufen, erlöschen, verfallen , ausatmen |
| Portuguese | vencer, expirar |
| Spanish | vencer, caducar, expirar, perimir |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does expire come from?
From Middle English expire, from Middle French expirer, from Latin expīrō, exspīrō, from ex- (“out”) + spīrō (“breathe, be alive”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).