Word Definition

Lapse

  1. To let slip; to permit to devolve on another; to allow to pass.
  2. To become ineffectual or void; to fall.
  3. 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.
  4. To pass slowly and smoothly downward, backward, or away; to slip downward, backward, or away; to glide; -- mostly restricted to figurative uses.
  5. A fall or apostasy.
  6. 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.
  7. A gliding, slipping, or gradual falling; an unobserved or imperceptible progress or passing away,; -- restricted usually to immaterial things, or to figurative uses.
  8. 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.
  9. To surprise in a fault or error; hence, to surprise or catch, as an offender.
  10. A slip; an error; a fault; a failing in duty; a slight deviation from truth or rectitude.