Etymology : Latin lapsus, from labi to slip; more at SLEEP
Pronunciation : 'laps
Function : noun
Date : 1526
1. error, mistake, failure; temporary deviation; passage of time, pause; gradual sinking to a lower degree, decline; expiration, termination. fail to reach an accepted standard; gradually slip into or out of a state or condition; elapse, expire, come to an end; become void; fall out of general use. lapse\lapse\, v. t.
2. to let slip; to permit to devolve on another; to allow to pass. an appeal may be deserted by the appellant's lapsing the term of law.
3. to surprise in a fault or error; hence, to surprise or catch, as an offender. [obs.] for which, if be lapsed in this place, i shall pay dear.lapse \lapse\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. lapsed (#); p. pr. & vb. n. lapsing.].
4. to pass slowly and smoothly downward, backward, or away; to slip downward, backward, or away; to glide; -- mostly restricted to figurative uses. a tendency to lapse into the barbarity of those northern nations from whom we are descended. homer, in his characters of vulcan and thersites, has lapsed into the burlesque character.
5. to slide or slip in moral conduct; to fail in duty; to fall from virtue; to deviate from rectitude; to commit a fault by inadvertence or mistake. to lapse in fullness is sorer than to lie for need.
6. (law) (a) to fall or pass from one proprietor to another, or from the original destination, by the omission, negligence, or failure of some one, as a patron, a legatee, etc. (b) to become ineffectual or void; to fall. if the archbishop shall not fill it up within six months ensuing, it lapses to the king.lapse \lapse\ , n. [l. lapsus, fr. labi, p. p. lapsus, to slide, to fall: cf. f. laps. see:
sleep.].
7. a gliding, slipping, or gradual falling; an unobserved or imperceptible progress or passing away,; -- restricted usually to immaterial things, or to figurative uses. the lapse to indolence is soft and imperceptible. --rambler. bacon was content to wait the lapse of long centuries for his expected revenue of fame. taylor.
8. a slip; an error; a fault; a failing in duty; a slight deviation from truth or rectitude. to guard against those lapses and failings to which our infirmities daily expose us.
9. (law) the termination of a right or privilege through neglect to exercise it within the limited time, or through failure of some contingency; hence, the devolution of a right or privilege.
10. (theol.) a fall or apostasy.lapse n.
11. a mistake resulting from inattention [syn: oversight].
12. a break or intermission in the occurrence of something; "a lapse of three weeks between letters".
13. a failure to maintain a higher state [syn: backsliding, lapsing, recidivism, relapse, relapsing, reversion, reverting] v 1: pass into a specified state or condition: "he sank into nirvana" [syn: sink, pass] 2: end, at least for a long time; "the correspondence lapsed" 3: drop to a lower level; as in one's morals or standards [syn: backslide].
14. go back to bad behavior; "those who recidivate are often minor criminals" [syn: relapse, recidivate, regress, retrogress, fall back].
15. let slip; "he lapsed his membership".
16. pass by, as of time [syn: elapse, pass, slip by, glide by , slip away, go by, slide by, go along].
17. A gliding, slipping, or gradual falling; an unobserved or imperceptible progress or passing away,; restricted usually to immaterial things, or to figurative uses.
18. A slip; an error; a fault; a failing in duty; a slight deviation from truth or rectitude.
19. The termination of a right or privilege through neglect to exercise it within the limited time, or through failure of some contingency; hence, the devolution of a right or privilege.
20. A fall or apostasy.
21. To pass slowly and smoothly downward, backward, or away; to slip downward, backward, or away; to glide; mostly restricted to figurative uses.
22. To slide or slip in moral conduct; to fail in duty; to fall from virtue; to deviate from rectitude; to commit a fault by inadvertence or mistake.
23. To fall or pass from one proprietor to another, or from the original destination, by the omission, negligence, or failure of some one, as a patron, a legatee, etc.
24. To become ineffectual or void; to fall.
25. To let slip; to permit to devolve on another; to allow to pass.
26. To surprise in a fault or error; hence, to surprise or catch, as an offender. a break or intermission in the occurrence of something; "a lapse of three weeks between letters" drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards end, at least for a long time; "The correspondence lapsed" let slip; "He lapsed his membership".
27. 1. A lapse is a moment or instance of bad behaviour by someone who usually behaves well. On Friday he showed neither decency nor dignity. It was an uncommon lapse.
28. A lapse of something such as concentration or judgment is a temporary lack of that thing, which can often cause you to make a mistake. I had a little lapse of concentration in the middle of the race The incident was being seen as a serious security lapse.
29. If you lapse into a quiet or inactive state, you stop talking or being active. She muttered something unintelligible and lapsed into silence.
30. If someone lapses into a particular way of speaking, or behaving, they start speaking or behaving in that way, usually for a short period. Teenagers occasionally find it all too much to cope with and lapse into bad behaviour. = slip Lapse is also a noun. Her lapse into German didn't seem peculiar. After all, it was her native tongue.
31. A lapse of time is a period that is long enough for a situation to change or for people to have a different opinion about it. the restoration of diplomatic relations after a lapse of 24 years There is usually a time lapse between receipt of new information and its publication.
32. If a period of time lapses, it passes. New products and production processes are transferred to the developing countries only after a substantial amount of time has lapsed.
33. If a situation or legal contract lapses, it is allowed to end rather than being continued, renewed, or extended. Her membership of the Labour Party has lapsed Ford allowed the name and trademark to lapse during the Eighties.
34. If a member of a particular religion lapses, they stop believing in it or stop following its rules and practices. She calls herself a lapsed Catholic.