lapse

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments  · 
“
On the streets of Baghdad, many Iraqis were angry at what they described as a lapse in security and wary about what will happen when U.S. forces leave.

View all »
Definitions (38)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (15)

  1. intransitive verb 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. intransitive verb To deviate from a prescribed or accepted way: lapse into heresy.
  3. intransitive verb To pass gradually or smoothly; slip: lapse into reverie.
12 more from this dictionary »

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (11)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (9)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (48)

  • To make up for the lapse, here's a trio of gotta-get titles that have as much to do with science as a creationist's thoughts on evolution. —  Omni: September 1994
  • Biden said the lapse was a process mistake, but he praised the selection of Panetta, calling the Californian a "strong figure" for the CIA who would "take it on a new path." —  - Latest Popular Stories, Instablogs Community
  • And if workers need an excuse for the lapse, they can put it down to a lack of concentration.
  • Food safety experts say the lapse is a major concern and shows state inspectors are spread thin and might need more training on how to spot unsanitary conditions. —  Latest Headlines - ABC 7 News
  • Food safety experts say the lapse is a major concern and shows that state inspectors are spread thin and might need more training on how to spot unsanitary conditions. —  Top Stories - Google News
More examples »
 

Tags

lapse hasn't been tagged yet.

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 133 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Suggestions Wordniks Suggest

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

mistake ·  blunder ·  breach ·  omission ·  weakness ·  flaw ·  neglect ·  occurrence ·  relapse ·  defect ·  fault ·  lack

Used in the same contextWord Family

lapse:   lapsed ·  lapses ·  lapsing
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. 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.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. = French laps = Spanish Portuguese lapso = Italian lasso, from Latin lapsus, a falling, slipping, from labi, slip: see labent, lap.
  2. from Latin lapsare, fall, slip, stumble, freq. of labi, past participle lapsus, full, slip: see lapse, n. Cf. collapse, elapse, illapse, relapse.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/læps/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about twice a week.

Recently looked up

electricity · potential · treachery · predatory · Silverback

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

pew · deadpool · sad panda · nom nom nom · woobie