noun

1. a slip of the tongue, pen, or memory; small error; fault
2. 1. a falling away from a moral standard; moral slip
   2. a falling or slipping into a lower or worse condition, esp. for a short time
3. a falling away from one's belief or faith
4. a gliding or passing away, as of time or of anything continuously flowing
5. Rare a falling into ruin
6. Law
   1. the termination or forfeiture of a right or privilege through disuse, through failure of some contingency, or through failure to meet stated obligations within a stated time
   2. the failure of a bequest or devise to take effect because of the death of the person who was to receive it

Etymology: L lapsus, a fall: see lap

intransitive verb lapsed, lapsing laps′·ing

1. to slip or fall; esp., to slip into a specified state to lapse into a coma
2. to slip or deviate from a higher standard or fall into (former) erroneous ways; backslide
3. to stop practicing one's religion; lose or abandon one's faith
4. to pass away; elapse: said of time
5. to come to an end; stop my subscription lapsed
6. to become forfeit or void because of failure to pay the premium at the stipulated time: said of an insurance policy
7. Law to pass to another proprietor by reason of negligence or death

Etymology: L lapsare < labi: see lap

transitive verb