lapse
Americannoun
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an accidental or temporary decline or deviation from an expected or accepted condition or state; a temporary falling or slipping from a previous standard.
a lapse of justice.
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a slip or error, often of a trivial sort; failure.
a lapse of memory.
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an interval or passage of time; elapsed period.
a lapse of ten minutes before the program resumed.
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a moral fall, as from rectitude or virtue.
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a fall or decline to a lower grade, condition, or degree; descent; regression.
a lapse into savagery.
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the act of falling, slipping, sliding, etc., slowly or by degrees.
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a falling into disuse.
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Insurance. discontinuance of coverage resulting from nonpayment of a premium; termination of a policy.
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Law. the termination of a right or privilege through neglect to exercise it or through failure of some contingency.
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Meteorology. lapse rate.
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Archaic. a gentle, downward flow, as of water.
verb (used without object)
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to fall or deviate from a previous standard; fail to maintain a normative level.
Toward the end of the book the author lapsed into bad prose.
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to come to an end; stop.
We let our subscription to that magazine lapse.
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to fall, slip, or sink; subside.
to lapse into silence.
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to fall into disuse.
The custom lapsed after a period of time.
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to deviate or abandon principles, beliefs, etc..
to lapse into heresy.
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to fall spiritually, as an apostate.
to lapse from grace.
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to pass away, as time; elapse.
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Law. to become void, as a legacy to someone who dies before the testator.
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to cease being in force; terminate.
Your insurance policy will lapse after 30 days.
noun
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a drop in standard of an isolated or temporary nature
a lapse of justice
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a break in occurrence, usage, etc
a lapse of five weeks between letters
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a gradual decline or a drop to a lower degree, condition, or state
a lapse from high office
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a moral fall
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law the termination of some right, interest, or privilege, as by neglecting to exercise it or through failure of some contingency
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insurance the termination of coverage following a failure to pay the premiums
verb
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to drop in standard or fail to maintain a norm
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to decline gradually or fall in status, condition, etc
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to be discontinued, esp through negligence or other failure
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(usually foll by into) to drift or slide (into a condition)
to lapse into sleep
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(often foll by from) to turn away (from beliefs or norms)
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law (of a devise or bequest) to become void, as on the beneficiary's predeceasing the testator
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(of time) to slip away
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have lapsedperfect
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has lapsedperfect 3rd person singular
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are lapsingprogressive
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am lapsingprogressive 1st person singular
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is lapsingprogressive 3rd person singular
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lapsingparticiple
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lapsessingular 3rd person
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has been lapsingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been lapsingperfect progressive
Past
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had lapsedperfect
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was lapsingprogressive singular
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were lapsingprogressive plural
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lapsedparticiple
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had been lapsingperfect progressive
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lapsedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of lapse
1520–30; < Latin lāpsus an error, slipping, failing, equivalent to lāb ( ī ) to slide, slip, fall, make a mistake + -sus, for -tus suffix of v. action
Explanation
A lapse is a temporary slip, failure or break in continuity. If you’re normally polite, a lapse in manners could make you forget to say “please” and “thank you.” First used to imply a “slip of the memory,” the noun lapse evolved in the sixteenth century from the Latin lapsus, meaning “a slipping and falling, falling into error.” The connotation of “a moral slip” developed later, and the verb form came into existence even later than that. Behaving badly one day when you're usually on your best behavior is a lapse; behaving badly again after a short stint being well-mannered means you're lapsing back into nasty old habits.
Vocabulary lists containing lapse
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 1
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List 4
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"The Landlady" by Roald Dahl
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Policyholders like your husband must then either let the policy lapse or to continue coverage at a significantly higher cost.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
And if you hear trembling violins and thrumming cellos, you might lapse into a vision of storm-whipped waves.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
The department has been partially shuttered since February 14, making it the longest funding lapse of its kind, at 75 days.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026
Bollo said the letter “reflects a lapse in oversight on my part as president” and said he is initiating a review of the student government’s internal policies for drafting and releasing public statements.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 24, 2026
“We’re investigating the lapse in surveillance,” General Sharpe says.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
