Dictionary.com

elapse

[ ih-laps ]
/ ɪˈlæps /
Save This Word!
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.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

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. 2023

How to use elapse in a sentence

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
FEEDBACK