Maturity date

The maturity date is the date on which a bond's issuer must repay the full face value of the loan to the bondholder. Bonds are often described by how far away that date is, a short term bond matures within a few years, a long term bond can run for decades.

A longer maturity generally means more exposure to interest rate changes between now and repayment, since there is more time for rates to move against the bond's fixed coupon. This is why longer dated bonds are typically more sensitive to interest rate moves than shorter dated ones.