lapse
Americannoun
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lapses
plural
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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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lapses,
present (3rd person singular)
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lapsed,
past participle, past
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lapsing
present participle
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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
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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lapsesimple
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lapsessimple
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have lapsedperfect
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has lapsedperfect
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am lapsingprogressive
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are lapsingprogressive
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is lapsingprogressive
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have been lapsingperfect progressive
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has been lapsingperfect progressive
Past
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lapsedsimple
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had lapsedperfect
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was lapsingprogressive
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were lapsingprogressive
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had been lapsingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
Last year it was also hurt by the lapse in federal food assistance during the 43-day government shutdown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Bouchier wafted unnecessarily outside the off stump, Heather Knight played around a straight one from Sayali Satghare for six and Jones suffered a lapse in concentration to prod spinner Sneh Rana to short leg.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
After exchanging points, Gauff - the player with the most double faults on the WTA Tour this season - suffered a lapse of concentration and landed just her second double fault of the match.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
The video led lawmakers in Quebec to vote unanimously to demand Rousseau’s resignation, and Carney at the time said Rousseau and the company’s board should be held accountable for a lapse in judgment and compassion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
When Cora caught Lander at a moment such as this, in a brief lapse between performances, he reminded her of Molly.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
“I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family,” the statement read.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Aging often makes itself visible in familiar ways, from gray hair and wrinkles to lapses in memory.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
Those concerns ranged from a poor disciplinary record and difficulties defending set-pieces to lapses in concentration, inconsistent finishing and, ultimately, inconsistent results.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The film frames their lapses in rigor as the joys of being a teenager, rather than imperfections — or worse, weakness in the pursuit of glory.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
Such lapses of memory were not uncommon in medical annals, he knew.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
He was later given a four-year ban, which lapsed in July this year.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
The decline came as folks dropped their coverage after enhanced federal subsidies lapsed at the start of this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Unless there was an error by the insurer, a lapsed policy has no death benefit.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
It is uncertain whether renters will face rapidly rising rents now that the protection has lapsed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
He could not be sure how long they had ridden, for he lapsed often into feverish dreams.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
Washington Metro demonstrated how a public work can be both infrastructure and symbol without lapsing into overblown architectural propaganda.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
However, this protection comes with limited upside given that it does not eliminate the risk of either poor long-term performance or the policy lapsing.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 1, 2026
“Labyrinth” is fortified with trompe l’oeil wonders, but none are as powerful as a dream sequence resulting from Sarah lapsing into a hallucination after she bites into an enchanted peach.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
Since Tuesday’s deadline passed — lapsing without the Dodgers landing any of the big-name players they pursued over the previous week — the club is now 5-1.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2023
I guessed I'd resolved the soul and sin thing by lapsing from my heavy-duty Catholic background, giving up my immortal soul for a blues kind of soul.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
