elapse

[ ih-laps ]
See synonyms for: elapseelapsedelapsing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),e·lapsed, e·laps·ing.
  1. (of time) to slip or pass by: Thirty minutes elapsed before the performance began.

noun
  1. the passage or termination of a period of time; lapse.

Origin of elapse

1
1635–45; <Latin ēlapsus (past participle of ēlābī to slip away), equivalent to e-e-1 + lab- slip + -sus for -tus past participle suffix

Other words from elapse

  • un·e·lapsed, adjective

Words Nearby elapse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use elapse in a sentence

  • It was a creed in which Sabatier had absolute faith, and the passing week was merely an interval which must elapse before success.

    The Light That Lures | Percy Brebner

British Dictionary definitions for elapse

elapse

/ (ɪˈlæps) /


verb
  1. (intr) (of time) to pass by

Origin of elapse

1
C17: from Latin ēlābī to slip away, from lābī to slip, 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