lapse
/læps/
lapse noun: a temporary failure; a slip.
Noun
lapse (plural lapses)
- A temporary failure; a slip.
- memory lapse
- It was a regrettable lapse by a person of otherwise exemplary character.
- A decline or fall in standards.
- The lapse to indolence is soft and imperceptible, because it is only a mere cessation of activity1751 September 10, Samuel Johnson, “No. CLV”, in The Rambler, →OCLC
- A pause in continuity.
- An interval of time between events.
- Still onward winds the dreary way;
I with it; for I long to prove
No lapse of moons can canker Love,
Whatever fickle tongues may say.1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXVI”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 43 - Bacon was content to wait the lapse of long centuries for his expected revenue of fame1860, Isaac Taylor, Ultimate Civilization and Other Essays, London: Bell and Daldy, →OCLC, page 309
- Synonyms:
- between-time, gap, interim, interlapse, meantime, meanwhile
- Still onward winds the dreary way;
- A termination of a right etc., through disuse or neglect.
- A marked decrease in air temperature with increasing altitude because the ground is warmer than the surrounding air.
- A common-law rule that if the person to whom property is willed were to die before the testator, then the gift would be ineffective.
- A fall or apostasy.
Verb
lapse (third-person singular simple present lapses, present participle lapsing, simple past and past participle lapsed)
- To fall away gradually; to subside.
- This perpetual disposition to shorten our words by retrenching the vowels, is nothing else but a tendency to lapse into the barbarity of those northern nations from whom we are descended1841, Jonathan Swift, “A letter to the Lord High Treasurer”, in The Works of Jonathan Swift, London: Henry Washbourne, →OCLC, page 288
- Homer, however, in his characters of Vulcan and Thersites, in his story of Mars and Venus, in his behaviour of Irus and in other passages has been observed to have lapsed into the Burlesque character, and to have departed from that serious Air which seems essential to the magnificence of an Epic...1730, Joseph Addison, The Works of the Late Right Honorable Joseph Addison, Esq., volume the third, London: Jacob Tonson, →OCLC
- To fall into error or heresy.
- To lapſe in Fullneſſe / Is ſorer, than to lye for Neede: and Falſhood / Is worſe in Kings, than Beggers.1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
- To slip into a bad habit that one is trying to avoid.
- To become void.
- The connections at Lewisham were never built, and the powers of the Act lapsed; but the spur at Nunhead was partly constructed.1946 November and December, “The Why and The Wherefore: Abandoned Embankment at Nunhead, S.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 392
- To fall or pass from one proprietor to another, or from the original destination, by the omission, negligence, or failure of somebody, such as a patron or legatee.
- ...and if the archbishop shall not fill it up within six Months ensuing, it lapses to the King, but according to the Canon Law to the Pope.1726, John Ayliffe, Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani, London: Printed for the Author by D. Leach, →OCLC, page 116
lapse meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Telugu
lapse in Tamil
- அரசடைபொருள், கழிவு, காலக்கழிவு, குறை, குறைபாடு, தவறு
lapse in Urdu
- بھول چوک, فروگذاشت, خطا, کوتاہی, لغزش
lapse in Bengali
- সামান্য ভুল, বিচ্যুতি, সময়ের অতিবাহিত হওয়া
lapse in Telugu
- lapse, omission
- అతిపాతము atipātamu
- lapse or passing of time
- హరణము haraṇamu
More languagesFewer languages
- lapse in Malayalam
- ഓർമ്മപ്പിശക്, അബദ്ധം, വീഴ്ച, പിശക്
- lapse in Kannada
- ತಪ್ಪು, ಕೈತಪ್ಪು, ಸಣ್ಣ ತಪ್ಪು, ಅಚಾತುರ್ಯ
- lapse in Sanskrit
- अतिपात atipāta, परिणाम pariṇāma
- lapse in Nepali
- लप्स गर्न
Examples of lapse in a sentence
- lapse in concentration
- Now, tho’ this Scripture may be usefully understood and apply’d by us as a Caution to guard against those Lapses and Failings to which our Infirmities daily expose us1735, John Rogers, Nineteen Sermons on several occasions, London: W. Innys and R. Manby, →OCLC, page 108:
Synonyms of lapse
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of lapse
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | lapses |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | lapses |
| present participle | lapsing |
| past participle | lapsed |
| past | lapsed |
Origin of lapse
From Middle French laps, from Latin lāpsus, from lābī (“to slip”). Doublet of lapsus.
Words formed from lapse
Phrases with lapse
Words that rhyme with lapse
Questions about lapse
- What does lapse mean?
- Lapse means a temporary failure; a slip.
- What is lapse in Tamil?
- Lapse in Tamil is அரசடைபொருள், கழிவு, காலக்கழிவு. See Lapse meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use lapse in a sentence?
- lapse in concentration
- What part of speech is lapse?
- Lapse can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce lapse?
- Lapse is pronounced /læps/ (UK).
- What is the plural of lapse?
- The plural of lapse is lapses.
Words near lapse in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: lapse (page history and authors); lapse (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); lapse (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Lapse (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); అతిపాతము (Telugu) (page history and authors); lapse (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); lapse (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); अतिपात (Sanskrit) (page history and authors); lapse (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “lapse.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/lapse. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.