caducar

to expire

verb kah-doo-KAHR Rare

Origin: From Latin caducare (to fall), from cadere (to fall).

Also means

to lapse

Usage Note

Caducar is used for documents, licences, medicines, and food products that pass their expiry date. The related noun is caducidad (fecha de caducidad = expiry date). Note the spelling change in conjugation: caduqué (first-person preterite) uses qu before e to preserve the hard /k/ sound — the same pattern as buscar → busqué. It is not interchangeable with vencer, which is preferred in some Latin American countries for the same concept.

Examples

"El pasaporte caduca el año que viene."

Natural Translation

The passport expires next year.

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