lapse

UK: /ˈlæps/ US: /læps/ ,(laps)

Inflections of 'lapse' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

lapses

v 3rd person singular

lapsing

v pres p

lapsed

v past

lapsed

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

lapse /læps/   n., v., lapsed, laps•ing. 
n. [countable]

1. an accidental or temporary decline or turning away from an expected or accepted condition or state:
   a lapse in good judgment.
2. a minor error:
   a lapse of memory.
3. an interval or passage of time:
   a lapse of only a few seconds.
4. a fall or decline to a lower grade, condition, or degree:
   a lapse into savagery.
5. the act of falling, slipping, sliding, etc., slowly or by degrees.

v. [no object]

6. to fall or turn away from a previous standard;
   fail to maintain a normal or expected level:
   often lapsed into carelessness.
7. to come to an end;
   stop:
   We let our subscription lapse.
8. to fall, slip, or sink:
   to lapse into silence.
9. to pass away, as time;
   elapse:
   A few moments had lapsed.
10. Business (of an insurance policy) to stop being in force;
    terminate.
11. to fall into disuse:
    That odd custom of the tribe eventually lapsed.
12. to turn away from or abandon principles, beliefs, etc.:
    lapsed from grace.

See -laps-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

lapse  (laps), n., v., lapsed, laps•ing. 
n. 

1. 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.
2. a slip or error, often of a trivial sort;
   failure:
   a lapse of memory.
3. an interval or passage of time;
   elapsed period:
   a lapse of ten minutes before the program resumed.
4. a moral fall, as from rectitude or virtue.
5. a fall or decline to a lower grade, condition, or degree;
   descent;
   regression:
   a lapse into savagery.
6. the act of falling, slipping, sliding, etc., slowly or by degrees.
7. a falling into disuse.
8. Business [Insurance.] discontinuance of coverage resulting from nonpayment of a premium;
   termination of a policy.
9. Law the termination of a right or privilege through neglect to exercise it or through failure of some contingency.
10. Meteorology See lapse rate. 
11. [Archaic.] a gentle, downward flow, as of water.

v.i. 

12. 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.
13. to come to an end;
    stop:
    We let our subscription to that magazine lapse.
14. to fall, slip, or sink;
    subside:
    to lapse into silence.
15. to fall into disuse:
    The custom lapsed after a period of time.
16. to deviate or abandon principles, beliefs, etc.:
    to lapse into heresy.
17. to fall spiritually, as an apostate:
    to lapse from grace.
18. to pass away, as time;
    elapse.
19. Law to become void, as a legacy to someone who dies before the testator.
20. Business to cease being in force;
    terminate:
    Your insurance policy will lapse after 30 days.

• Latin lāpsus an error, slipping, failing, equivalent. to lāb(ī) to slide, slip, fall, make a mistake + -sus, for -tus suffix of verb, verbal action
• 1520–30

laps′er, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

lapse / læps/ noun

1. a drop in standard of an isolated or temporary nature: a lapse of justice
2. a break in occurrence, usage, etc: a lapse of five weeks between letters
3. a gradual decline or a drop to a lower degree, condition, or state: a lapse from high office
4. a moral fall
5. the termination of some right, interest, or privilege, as by neglecting to exercise it or through failure of some contingency
6. the termination of coverage following a failure to pay the premiums

verb (intransitive)

1. to drop in standard or fail to maintain a norm
2. to decline gradually or fall in status, condition, etc
3. to be discontinued, esp through negligence or other failure
4. (usually followed by into) to drift or slide (into a condition): to lapse into sleep
5. (often followed by from) to turn away (from beliefs or norms)
6. (of time) to slip away

Etymology: 15th Century: from Latin lāpsus error, from lābī to glide

ˈlapsable, ˈlapsible adjective

lapsed adjective

ˈlapser noun