lapse
noun
1. a mistake resulting from inattention
Similar word(s): oversight
Definition categories: act, error, fault, mistake
2. a break or intermission in the occurrence of something
- a lapse of three weeks between letters
Definition categories: time, break, intermission, interruption, pause, suspension
3. a failure to maintain a higher state
Similar word(s): backsliding, lapsing, relapse, relapsing, reversion, reverting
verb
1. pass into a specified state or condition
Definition categories: motion, move
2. end, at least for a long time
- The correspondence lapsed
Definition categories: change, cease, end, finish, stop, terminate
3. drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards
Similar word(s): backslide
Definition categories: change, slip
4. go back to bad behavior
Similar word(s): recidivate, regress, relapse, retrogress
Definition categories: body, regress, retrovert, return, revert
5. let slip
- He lapsed his membership
Definition categories: possession, forego, forfeit, forgo, waive
6. pass by
- three years elapsed