What does "lapse" mean?
A temporary failure; a slip.
Lapse
noun, verb
noun, verb ·1 syllable ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A temporary failure; a slip.
- Grammar: lapse is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: relapse, abeyance, about face, about-face.
- Useful contrasts: activation, care, consistency.
- Usage evidence: Time crumbles things; everything grows old under the power of Time and is forgotten through the lapse of Time.
How to use "lapse"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "lapse" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "lapse" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "lapse" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "lapse" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "lapse" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "relapse" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "lapse", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A temporary failure; a slip.
"memory lapse"
- 2 a failure to maintain a higher state wordnet
- 3 A decline or fall in standards.
"The lapse to indolence is soft and imperceptible, because it is only a mere cessation of activity"
- 4 a mistake resulting from inattention wordnet
- 5 A pause in continuity.
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 a break or intermission in the occurrence of something wordnet
- 7 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."
- 8 A termination of a right etc., through disuse or neglect.
- 9 A marked decrease in air temperature with increasing altitude because the ground is warmer than the surrounding air.
- 10 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.
- 11 A fall or apostasy.
Verb
- 1 To fall away gradually; to subside. intransitive
"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 descended"
- 2 go back to bad behavior wordnet
- 3 To fall into error or heresy. intransitive
"To lapſe in Fullneſſe / Is ſorer, than to lye for Neede: and Falſhood / Is worſe in Kings, than Beggers."
- 4 drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards wordnet
- 5 To slip into a bad habit that one is trying to avoid.
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 end, at least for a long time wordnet
- 7 To become void. intransitive
"The connections at Lewisham were never built, and the powers of the Act lapsed; but the spur at Nunhead was partly constructed."
- 8 pass into a specified state or condition; sink into wordnet
- 9 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."
- 10 for time to move forward wordnet
- 11 let slip wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Time crumbles things; everything grows old under the power of Time and is forgotten through the lapse of Time."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "lapse"?
Common synonyms include: relapse, abeyance, about face, about-face, advance, alchemy.
How do you use "lapse" in a sentence?
Time crumbles things; everything grows old under the power of Time and is forgotten through the lapse of Time.
Etymology
From Middle French laps, from Latin lāpsus, from lābī (“to slip”). Doublet of lapsus.