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.

A year ago, the 35-year-old from New Orleans emailed Nike’s legal team to say he had registered the Total90 trademark, after Nike’s registration had lapsed in 2019.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 25, 2025

When he was dying in hospital, I visited one day, and saw that he had lapsed into a coma.

From BBC • Jan. 25, 2025

The increase marks a departure from last year, when some pandemic protections had lapsed but filings were still below pre-pandemic norms.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 26, 2023

Mr. Oe also had a quarrel with Japanese society, arguing that, after 25 years of democracy and intellectual ferment following the war, the country had lapsed into a trough of conformity.

From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2023

He had lapsed into his phony way of speaking when he wanted to be fancy or sarcastic.

From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier