elapse

American  

[ih-laps] / ɪˈlæps /

verb (used without object)

elapses, present (3rd person singular) elapsed, past participle, past elapsing present participle

1. (of time) to slip or pass by.

   Thirty minutes elapsed before the performance began.

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noun

1. the passage or termination of a period of time; lapse.

elapse British  

/ ɪˈlæps /

verb

1. (intr) (of time) to pass by

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unelapsed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• elapsing
  present
• elapsed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• elapse
  simple
• elapses
  simple
• have elapsed
  perfect
• has elapsed
  perfect
• am elapsing
  progressive
• are elapsing
  progressive
• is elapsing
  progressive
• have been elapsing
  perfect progressive
• has been elapsing
  perfect progressive

Past

• elapsed
  simple
• had elapsed
  perfect
• was elapsing
  progressive
• were elapsing
  progressive
• had been elapsing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will elapse
  simple
• will have elapsed
  perfect
• will be elapsing
  progressive
• will have been elapsing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of elapse

1635–45; < Latin ēlapsus (past participle of ēlābī to slip away), equivalent to e- e- ¹ + lab- slip + -sus for -tus past participle suffix

Explanation

When time passes by, you say it elapses. Four years elapse while you are in high school. Nine months elapse while you are in the womb. If two weeks have elapsed between your tennis lessons, there has been a two-week lapse between sessions. The word elapse comes from the Latin word elabi which means "to slip away." Time is one of those things that really does tend to slip away, unless you're sitting through a lecture on the nature of time. Then, it might feel like years elapse when really it is just a few minutes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

elapse elapses elapsed elapsing

You may even die before those nearly two decades elapse, so you would have lost out on all that extra loot.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026

But the repercussions will reverberate for some time: at least 12 months must elapse from the last case to regain the important fever-free status.

From Barron's ● Dec. 2, 2025

Years elapse in the course of a few pages, and it’s 1942 in Nazi-occupied France.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2025

"It therefore seems likely that many years will elapse before any such Crispr-based therapy becomes routine - even assuming that it can be shown to be effective."

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2024

The principle had been discovered; but many, many years were to elapse before that principle was usefully applied.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

As the pair do some sightseeing, share meals and otherwise fill their days with prosaic acts, more than 30 minutes of screen time elapses in what amounts to stage-setting.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

Disciplinary complaints against a lawyer actually have no statute of limitations, although the more time that elapses, the more difficult it will be to prove/investigate.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 2, 2026

Isaacs will not automatically be released after his 21-year minimum jail term elapses.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2025

Unlike the GLP-1 hormone, which is rapidly metabolized by the body, semaglutide and similar medications have much longer half-lives, meaning the medication can build up inside the body if not enough time elapses between doses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023

Letters continually pass and repass, and scarcely a month elapses without the arrival of a caravan.

From The Highlands of Ethiopia by Harris, William Cornwallis

And, given the time elapsed, the council confirmed they had no intention of looking into the matter.

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026

IHR said Mohammadi had 20 days to appeal under the law but warned there had in the past been cases of people being executed before this period elapsed.

From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026

By the time the agents shoved me into that unmarked SUV, three minutes and 30 seconds had elapsed.

From Slate ● Jan. 23, 2026

Marquee values for the E-Ray include an official 0-60 mph acceleration in 2.5 seconds and a ¼-mile elapsed time of 10.5 seconds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

Then, after a suitable period of recovery had elapsed, someone called out, “Lanre! Lanre!”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

The back-to-back turnovers dropped the Bengals win probability from 83.8% to 8.2% with only seconds of game time elapsing, according to the NFL’s modeling.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025

With years often elapsing between the incident and inquest, Alexander said inquests often open wounds and “re-traumatize” the families.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 15, 2023

But he says that this was impossible because the allotted six months began elapsing as soon as the estate was put up for sale.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2023

“That time elapsing, in itself, really showed us our own shame.”

From New York Times ● Dec. 15, 2021

All through the three days elapsing after the night of Billie’s death, Mrs. Dalken remained locked in her boudoir, her maid seeing that the smelling salts were handy whenever her lady called for them.

From Polly in New York by Roy, Lillian Elizabeth

Related Words

• expire
• pass by
• transpire