lapse in English dictionary

  • lapse

    Meanings and definitions of "lapse"

    • A temporary failure; a slip.
    • A decline or fall in standards.
    • A pause in continuity.
    • An interval of time between events.
    • A termination of a right etc, through disuse or neglect.
    • (weather) A marked decrease in air temperature with increasing altitude because the ground is warmer than the surrounding air. This condition usually occurs when skies are clear and between 1100 and 1600 hours, local time. Strong convection currents exist during lapse conditions. For chemical operations, the state is defined as unstable. This condition is normally considered the most unfavorable for the release of chemical agents. See lapse rate.
    • (law) 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.
    • (intransitive) To fall away gradually; to subside
    • (intransitive) To fall into error or heresy
    • To slip into a bad habit that one is trying to avoid.
    • (intransitive) To become void
    • noun
      A temporary failure; a slip.
    • noun
      A decline or fall in standards.
    • noun
      A pause in continuity.
    • noun
      An interval of time between events.
    • noun
      A termination of a right etc, through disuse or neglect.
    • noun
      (weather) A marked decrease in air temperature with increasing altitude because the ground is warmer than the surrounding air. This condition usually occurs when skies are clear and between 1100 and 1600 hours, local time. Strong convection currents exist during lapse conditions. For chemical operations, the state is defined as unstable. This condition is normally considered the most unfavorable for the release of chemical agents. See lapse rate.
    • noun
      (law)
      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.
    • noun
      (theology)
      A fall or apostasy.
    • verb
      (intransitive)
      To fall away gradually; to subside.
    • verb
      (intransitive)
      To fall into error or heresy.
    • verb
      To slip into a bad habit that one is trying to avoid.
    • verb
      (intransitive)
      To become void.
    • verb
      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.
    • a temporary failure; a slip
    • annihilation (physics)
    • A temporary failure.
    • noun
      a break or intermission in the occurrence of something; "a lapse of three weeks between letters"
    • noun
      a failure to maintain a higher state
    • noun
      a mistake resulting from inattention
    • verb
      drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards
    • verb
      end, at least for a long time; "The correspondence lapsed"
    • verb
      go back to bad behavior; "Those who recidivate are often minor criminals"
    • verb
      let slip; "He lapsed his membership"
    • verb
      pass by; "three years elapsed"
    • verb
      pass into a specified state or condition; "He sank into nirvana"

    Synonyms of "lapse" in English dictionary

    relapsing, give up, fault are the top synonyms of "lapse" in the English thesaurus.

    Grammar and declension of lapse

    • lapse ( plural  lapses)
    • lapse ( third-person singular simple present lapses, present participle lapsing, simple past and past participle lapsed)
    • lapse (plural lapses)
    • lapse (third-person singular simple present lapses, present participle lapsing, simple past and past participle lapsed)
  • Lapse

Sample sentences with "lapse"

Available translations

Authors