Phrase guide

shelf life

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The length of time a product (especially food and drugs) will last without deteriorating or without being sold.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The maximum time a packaged material can be stored under specific conditions and still meet the performance requirements specified.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: storage life

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The length of time that something is popular or fashionable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

the length of time a packaged food or drug will last without deteriorating

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: time period, period of time, period

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

28 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 有效期 (yǒuxiàoqī) — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Chinese Mandarin: 保質期 /保质期 (bǎozhìqī) — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Chinese Mandarin: 貨架期 /货架期 (huòjiàqī) — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Dutch: houdbaarheid — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Finnish: säilyvyysaika — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • French: durée de vie — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • German: Lagerfähigkeit — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • German: Lagerbeständigkeit — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • German: Haltbarkeit — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Indonesian: umur simpan — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Italian: durata — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Italian: conservazione — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Japanese: 賞味期限 (shoumikigen) — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Korean: 유통기한 (yutonggihan) — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Korean: 유통기간 (yutonggigan) — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Malayalam: കാലാവധി (kālāvadhi) — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Norwegian Bokmål: holdbarhet — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Norwegian Bokmål: holdbarhetstid — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Polish: trwałość — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Portuguese: validade — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Portuguese: duração — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Spanish: vigencia — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Spanish: duración — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Spanish: vida almacenable — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Swedish: hållbarhet — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Turkish: raf ömrü — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Vietnamese: hạn sử dụng — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating
  • Welsh: oes silff — the length of time a product will last without deteriorating