- (v.i.) To pass slowly and smoothly downward, backward or away; to slip downward, backward or away; to glide; -- mostly restricted to figurative uses.
- (v.t.) To surprise in a fault or error; hence, to surprise or catch, as an offender.
- (v.t.) To let slip; to permit to devolve on another; to allow to pass.
- (n.) A slip; an error; a fault; a failing in duty; a slight deviation from truth or rectitude.
- (v.i.) To become ineffectual or void; to fall.
- (v.i.) 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.
- (n.) A gliding, slipping or gradual falling; an unobserved or imperceptible progress or passing away,; -- restricted usually to immaterial things or to figurative uses.
- (v.i.) 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.
- (n.) 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.
- (n.) A fall or apostasy.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). lapse. Retrieved September 23, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/lapse/definitions/2026616 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "lapse" http://smartdefine.org/lapse/definitions/2026616 (accessed September 23, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, lapse, Smart Define, viewed 23 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/lapse/definitions/2026616>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "lapse" 27 May 2011. Web. 23 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/lapse/definitions/2026616> |