Associations to the word «Lapse»

Wiktionary

LAPSE, noun. A temporary failure; a slip.
LAPSE, noun. A decline or fall in standards.
LAPSE, noun. A pause in continuity.
LAPSE, noun. An interval of time between events.
LAPSE, noun. A termination of a right etc, through disuse or neglect.
LAPSE, 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.
LAPSE, noun. (legal) 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.
LAPSE, noun. (theology) A fall or apostasy.
LAPSE, verb. (intransitive) To fall away gradually; to subside.
LAPSE, verb. (intransitive) To fall into error or heresy.
LAPSE, verb. To slip into a bad habit that one is trying to avoid.
LAPSE, verb. (intransitive) To become void.
LAPSE, 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.
LAPSE RATE, noun. (meteorology) The rate of change in atmospheric temperature with increase of height. The variable normally is temperature unless specified otherwise. This is a vertical direction of travel (up or down), and the temperature may rise or fall suddenly.

Dictionary definition

LAPSE, noun. A mistake resulting from inattention.
LAPSE, noun. A break or intermission in the occurrence of something; "a lapse of three weeks between letters".
LAPSE, noun. A failure to maintain a higher state.
LAPSE, verb. Pass into a specified state or condition; "He sank into nirvana".
LAPSE, verb. End, at least for a long time; "The correspondence lapsed".
LAPSE, verb. Drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards.
LAPSE, verb. Go back to bad behavior; "Those who recidivate are often minor criminals".
LAPSE, verb. Let slip; "He lapsed his membership".
LAPSE, verb. Pass by; "three years elapsed".

Wise words

In words, as fashions, the same rule will hold; Alike fantastic, if too new, or old: Be not the first by whom the new are tried, Nor yet the last to lay the old aside.
Alexander Pope