elapse

[ ih-laps ]

/ ɪˈlæps /

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See synonyms for: elapse / elapsed / elapsing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), e·lapsed, e·laps·ing.

(of time) to slip or pass by: Thirty minutes elapsed before the performance began.

noun

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

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM elapse

un·e·lapsed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use elapse in a sentence

But by the time a critical wanted poster sent via fax arrived, more than two hours elapsed.
Alleged Cop Killer Ismaaiyl Brinsley Had a Death Wish|M.L. Nestel|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Forty-five minutes were estimated to have elapsed from the time the stabbing began until the killer left.
The Myth of the Central Park Five|Edward Conlon|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
During the moment which elapsed between her reply and my answer I thought of a thousand responses to that innocent confession.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
More than a year elapsed before Hawes found an attorney willing to handle the pardon request.
The Jazz Pianist That John F. Kennedy Saved|Ted Gioia|August 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The 24 years that have elapsed have already blurred the small details, the memories and the feelings.
Opening Up About Sexual Assault in Israel|Emily L. Hauser|June 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
As so much time has elapsed since the orders were given, the persons that ordered them are quite impotent.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
Smoke not before breakfast, nor till an hour has elapsed after a good meal.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
The inscription of the Rupuath Rock has the words: "Two hundred and fifty years have elapsed since the departure of the teacher."
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
Not until forty-four years had elapsed did she renew her acquaintance with the family in the person of Peter Ilich.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky
Pernambuco had during the half century which had elapsed since the expulsion of the Dutch had time to recruit.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham

British Dictionary definitions for elapse

elapse

/ (ɪˈlæps) /

verb

(intr) (of time) to pass by

Word Origin for elapse

C17: from Latin ēlābī to slip away, from lābī to slip, glide

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

elapse

Origin of elapse

OTHER WORDS FROM elapse

Words related to elapse

How to use elapse in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for elapse

Word Origin for elapse