lapse

[ laps ]

/ læps /

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See synonyms for: lapse / lapsed / lapsing on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

a slip or error, often of a trivial sort; failure: a lapse of memory.

an interval or passage of time; elapsed period: a lapse of ten minutes before the program resumed.

a moral fall, as from rectitude or virtue.

a fall or decline to a lower grade, condition, or degree; descent; regression: a lapse into savagery.

the act of falling, slipping, sliding, etc., slowly or by degrees.

a falling into disuse.

Insurance. discontinuance of coverage resulting from nonpayment of a premium; termination of a policy.

Law. the termination of a right or privilege through neglect to exercise it or through failure of some contingency.

Meteorology. lapse rate.

Archaic. a gentle, downward flow, as of water.

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

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.

to come to an end; stop: We let our subscription to that magazine lapse.

to fall, slip, or sink; subside: to lapse into silence.

to fall into disuse: The custom lapsed after a period of time.

to deviate or abandon principles, beliefs, etc.: to lapse into heresy.

to fall spiritually, as an apostate: to lapse from grace.

to pass away, as time; elapse.

Law. to become void, as a legacy to someone who dies before the testator.

to cease being in force; terminate: Your insurance policy will lapse after 30 days.

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM lapse

lapser, nounun·laps·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lapse in a sentence

The former has gone so far as to take out ads apologizing for its lapses.
George Will, Fox News, and the Beginning of an Ebola Conspiracy|Russell Saunders|October 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But when a financial model depends on millions of users, and mere algorithms patrolling the gates, lapses are inevitable.
Facebook Apologizes For, but Doesn’t Retract, Discriminatory ‘Real Name’ Policy|Jay Michaelson|October 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
All this, of course, is ironic given how his Cuomo Sr. castigated the Reagan administration for its ethical lapses.
Andrew Cuomo’s Do-Gooders Done Wrong|Lloyd Green|July 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As enraging as these lapses are, they should not come as a surprise.
The Worst Place in the World for MH370 to Go Missing|Clive Irving|April 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Is it a failure of the modern Defense Department, yet another of the many lapses in leadership that have characterized this era?
The Medal of Honor Disgrace|Brian Van Reet|March 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That was "back in the Sixties," when his lapses were as far apart as they were unrivalled in consumption, span, and pyrotechny.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton
He had seen many sides of New York in the periodic lapses which kept him constantly in search of a new profession.
The Woman Gives|Owen Johnson
He was angry and impatient with the "cavilling spirit of mediocrity," that takes pleasure in the lapses of "the mighty-souled."
The Life of Mazzini|Bolton King
I shall not confess to any such lapses on the part of my immediate family and friends,—no, I shall never confess to that!
Gardens of the Caribbees, v. 1/2|Ida May Hill Starr
Our former lapses require tears, shame and sorrow to expiate them.
The love letters of Abelard and Heloise|Peter Abelard

British Dictionary definitions for lapse

lapse

/ (læps) /

noun

a drop in standard of an isolated or temporary naturea lapse of justice

a break in occurrence, usage, etca lapse of five weeks between letters

a gradual decline or a drop to a lower degree, condition, or statea lapse from high office

a moral fall

law the termination of some right, interest, or privilege, as by neglecting to exercise it or through failure of some contingency

insurance the termination of coverage following a failure to pay the premiums

verb (intr)

to drop in standard or fail to maintain a norm

to decline gradually or fall in status, condition, etc

to be discontinued, esp through negligence or other failure

(usually foll by into) to drift or slide (into a condition)to lapse into sleep

(often foll by from) to turn away (from beliefs or norms)

law (of a devise or bequest) to become void, as on the beneficiary's predeceasing the testator

(of time) to slip away

Derived forms of lapse

lapsable or lapsible, adjectivelapsed, adjectivelapser, noun

Word Origin for lapse

C15: from Latin lāpsus error, from lābī to 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

lapse

Origin of lapse

OTHER WORDS FROM lapse

Words related to lapse

How to use lapse in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lapse

Derived forms of lapse

Word Origin for lapse