English Café: Expiry & Expire

Advanced Details: Expiry or Expire?

Expiry is the noun form of the verb expire. We often use it together with the word date, e.g., What is the expiry date of your credit card? (= What is the last date on which it can be used?) The expiry date is 28 November 2023.

Expire is a regular verb. It means to come to an “end.” The contract expired. In other words, The contract ended. If a document or agreement will soon expire, it will soon no longer be valid because the period of time for which it could be used has ended. Synonym for expired = run out

Please note that expire is an intransitive verb, so it cannot be written in passive voice. This means we cannot write: The document is/was expired last month. The time period will be expired next week. The correct sentences are: The document expired last month. The document has expired. The time period will expire next week.

Following are some more interesting sentences that use the noun “expiry”:

• The expiry of a fixed-term contract is always included in the document.
• The license can be renewed on expiry.
• Upon expiry of the purchasing policy, a new purchasing policy must be started.
• Your passport should be renewed before its expiry.