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lapse

 - 6 dictionary results

lapse

  [laps] noun, verb, lapsed, laps⋅ing.
Use lapse in a Sentence
–noun
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. 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. lapse rate.
11. Archaic. a gentle, downward flow, as of water.
–verb (used without object)
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. to cease being in force; terminate: Your insurance policy will lapse after 30 days.
Origin:
1520–30; < L lāpsus an error, slipping, failing, equiv. to lāb(ī) to slide, slip, fall, make a mistake + -sus, for -tus suffix of v. action

Related forms:
lapser, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To lapse
lapse   (lāps)   
v.   lapsed, laps·ing, laps·es

v.   intr.

    1. To fall from a previous level or standard, as of accomplishment, quality, or conduct: lapse into bad habits; a team that lapsed into mediocrity halfway through the season.

    2. To deviate from a prescribed or accepted way: lapse into heresy.

    3. To pass gradually or smoothly; slip: lapse into reverie.

    4. To come to an end, especially gradually or temporarily: He realized that his attention had lapsed and he hadn't heard the assignment.

    5. To be no longer valid or active; expire: She allowed her membership to lapse after the first year.

    1. To come to an end, especially gradually or temporarily: He realized that his attention had lapsed and he hadn't heard the assignment.

    2. To be no longer valid or active; expire: She allowed her membership to lapse after the first year.

  3. Law To pass to another through neglect or omission. Used of a right or privilege, a benefice, or an estate.

  4. To go by; elapse: Years had lapsed since we last met.

v.   tr.
To allow to lapse.
n.  

  1. The act or an instance of lapsing, as:

    1. A usually minor or temporary failure; a slip: a lapse of memory; a lapse in judgment.

    2. A deterioration or decline: a lapse into barbarism.

    3. A moral fall: a lapse from grace.

  2. A break in continuity; a pause: a lapse in the conversation.

  3. A period of time; an interval: a lapse of several years between the two revolutions.

  4. Law The termination of a right or privilege through disuse, neglect, or death.


[Middle English lapsen, to deviate from the normal, from laps, lapse of time, sin (from Old French, lapse of time, from Latin lāpsus, from past participle of lābī, to lapse) and from Latin lāpsāre, frequentative of lābī, to lapse.]
laps'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

lapse 
1526, "slip of the memory," from M.Fr. laps "lapse," from L. lapsus "a slipping and falling, flight (of time), falling into error," from labi "to slip, glide, fall." Meaning "a moral slip" is from 1582; that of "a falling away from one's faith" is from 1660. Legal sense of "termination of a right or privilege" first recorded 1570. The verb is first attested 1641.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: lapse
Pronunciation: 'laps
Function: noun
: a termination or failure due to events, neglect, or time: as a : the failure of a bequest (as because the intended recipient dies before the testator) —compare ANTI-LAPSE STATUTE b : the termination of an insurance policy because of nonpayment of premiums or nonrenewal

Main Entry: lapse
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: lapsed; laps·ing
intransitive verb : to terminate, become ineffective, or fail lapsed when the son died before the father> lapse> transitive verb : to cause (as a policy) to lapse lapsed the policy>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Computing Dictionary

LAPSE language
A single assignment language for the Manchester dataflow machine.
["A Single Assignment Language for Data Flow Computing", J.R.W. Glauert, M.Sc Diss, Victoria U Manchester, 1978].
(1994-12-21)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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