sell-by date
4
3.2
- noun
- /ˈsɛlˌbaɪ deɪt/
- US
:
fecha de caducidad
- And maybe be sure to check the sell-by date: a half-dozen eggs, the large size, not the extra large.
- sell-by dates on meat
- check the sell-by date
- days past the sell-by date
Examples
-
Most of them well beyond their sell-by date.
-
- Yeah, a bit past its sell- by date, I'm afraid.
-
Joints do not come with a sell by date or use by date.
-
All this food is way past its sell-by date.
-
Two of mine that have gone beyond their "sell-by" dates and will be replaced:
Blog text (32) -
This Karoo lamb is way past her sell-by date.
-
Never trust a gargoyle or prunes past their sell-by date.
-
I throw food out if it's after the sell-by date because I don't know when the "use by" date should be, and let's not even talk about milk.
Blog text (30) -
You should always check the sell-by date to ensure the food is still fresh.
-
The milk was thrown away because it was past its sell-by date.
Surface Forms
Morphology
sell-by + date
The meaning is directly compositional: a B1 learner who knows 'sell' (to offer for purchase), 'by' (before), and 'date' (a calendar day) can infer 'sell-by date' as the day by which an item should be sold. This is a common, cross-linguistically attested packaging/retail concept and follows transparent English noun-compounding patterns.
Etymology
Sell-by date comes from the labels shops put on food to show the last day to sell it; literally it is the date by which the shop should sell the product. So the label tells shops and shoppers the 'last day' to sell the item so it stays fresh.