lapse

v., lapsed, laps·ing, laps·es.

v.intr.

1. 1. 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. To deviate from a prescribed or accepted way: lapse into heresy.
   3. To pass gradually or smoothly; slip: lapse into reverie.
2. 1. To come to an end, especially gradually or temporarily: He realized that his attention had lapsed and he hadn't heard the assignment.
   2. To be no longer valid or active; expire: She allowed her membership to lapse after the first year.
3. Law. To pass to another through neglect or omission. Used of a right or privilege, a benefice, or an estate.
4. To go by; elapse: Years had lapsed since we last met.

v.tr.

To allow to lapse.

n.

1. The act or an instance of lapsing, as:
   1. A usually minor or temporary failure; a slip: a lapse of memory; a lapse in judgment.
   2. A deterioration or decline: a lapse into barbarism.
   3. A moral fall: a lapse from grace.
2. A break in continuity; a pause: a lapse in the conversation.
3. A period of time; an interval: a lapse of several years between the two revolutions.
4. Law. The termination of a right or privilege through disuse, neglect, or death.

[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.]

lapser laps'er n.

verb

1. To slip from a higher or better condition to a former, usually lower or poorer one: backslide, regress, relapse, retrogress, revert. See better/worse, repetition.
2. To become or cause to become less active or intense: abate, bate, die (away, down, off. or out), ease (off or up), ebb, fall, fall off, let up, moderate, remit, slacken, slack off, subside, wane. See increase/decrease.
3. To move smoothly, continuously, and effortlessly: glide, glissade, slide, slip, slither. See move/halt.
4. To become void, especially through passage of time or an omission: expire, run out. See continue/stop/pause, law.
5. To move past in time: elapse, go (by), pass. See time.

noun

1. A minor mistake: slip, slip-up. Informal fluff. See correct/incorrect.
2. An act or thought that unintentionally deviates from what is correct, right, or true: erratum, error, inaccuracy, incorrectness, miscue, misstep, mistake, slip, slip-up, trip. See correct/incorrect.
3. A slipping from a higher or better condition to a lower or poorer one: backslide, backsliding, recidivation, recidivism, relapse. See better/worse, repetition.

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

The termination or failure of a right or privilege because of a neglect to exercise that right or to perform some duty within a time limit, or because a specified contingency did not occur. The expiration of coverage under an insurance policy because of the insured's failure to pay the premium.

The common-law principle that a gift in a will does not take effect but passes into the estate remaining after the payment of debts and particular gifts, if the beneficiary is alive when the will is executed but subsequently predeceases thetestator.

In its broadest sense, the term lapse describes the loss of any right or privilege because of the passage of time or the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a certain event. It is often used by legislatures in reference to governmental concerns. Legislatures may include anti-lapse provisions in statutes to ensure that certain spending programs remain funded from year to year. Lapse also has distinct significance in the law of insurance contracts and wills.

An insurance policy can lapse, or become void, if the insured fails to make payments on it. All states give insureds a grace period, which allows extra time to make a payment owed under a policy. The grace period varies from policy to policy. For example, in Maine the grace period is seven days for health insurance policies with weekly premiums, ten days for such policies with monthly premiums, and thirty-one days for all other such policies (Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. tit. 24-A, § 2707). The grace period in Maine is thirty days for life insurance policies (§ 2505).

Some statutes on insurance policy lapses provide a small measure of protection against lapse. For example, Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, title 24-A, section 2739 (West 1995), states that no insurance company may cancel a health insurance policy within three months of nonpayment unless the insurer provides the insured with a notice of potential lapse within ten to forty-five days after the premium was due. Section 4751 provides that in the event of a strike by insurance agents, no life or noncancellable health, hospital expense, or hospital and surgical expense insurance policy may lapse owing to nonpayment within thirty days of the strike's inception. This law applies only if the agent is responsible for the collection of premiums and is represented in collective bargaining by a labor organization that has been recognized by the state.

A will is a document left by a deceased person, who is called a testator or devisor. A will allocates the property of a testator to living persons. If the intended recipient of a gift in a will (called a beneficiary or devisee) dies before the testator, the gift may lapse. This means that the gift is void and is placed back into the estate of the testator. The property becomes part of the residuum of the estate and may not be disposed of in the manner sought by the testator.

Almost all states have statutes that provide that in the event of a lapse, the gift should go to the issue, or lineal descendants, of the deceased devisee. If the beneficiary has no issue, then the gift is left in the estate of the testator.

In some states the anti-lapse statute applies only to grandparents of the testator and lineal descendants of the testator's grandparents. For example, under the Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, title 18-A, section 2-605 (West 1995), the issue of the deceased devisee may receive a gift intended for the deceased devisee, but only if they survived the testator by 120 hours.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - fejl, forsømmelse, lapsus, fejltrin, vildfarelse, fald, gradvis ophør, hengliden, forløb, udløb, bortfald af rettighed
v. intr. - forse sig, forsynde sig, komme på afveje, falde tilbage til, bortfalde, udløbe
v. tr. - lade bortfalde, lade udløbe

Nederlands (Dutch)
achteruitgang (gezondheid), (kleine) fout, tussenpoos, lapsus, verval (van recht), misstap, vergrijp, (af) dwaling, vergissing, afvalligheid, achteruitgaan in kracht (en), overgaan in (zwijgen), vervallen (in), verstrijken van tijd, voorbijgaan, verlopen

Français (French)
n. - défaillance, trou de mémoire, écart de conduite, manquement, intervalle, laps de temps, erreur, lapsus, passage à
v. intr. - tomber dans (un coma), tomber en désuétude, expirer, prendre fin, baisser (le niveau)
v. tr. - laisser tomber dans, laisser tomber en désuétude, laisser s'écouler (le temps)

Deutsch (German)
n. - Fehler, Zeitspanne, Absinken, Erlöschen, Verfall
v. - verfallen, abgleiten

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ολίσθημα, σφάλμα, διάλειψη (μνήμης), πάροδος, παρέλευση χρόνου, (νομ.) εκπνοή, λήξη
v. - ολισθαίνω, γλιστρώ, παρέρχομαι, περνώ, βυθίζομαι, κατολισθαίνω βαθμιαία

Italiano (Italian)
lapsus, passo falso

Português (Portuguese)
n. - lapso (m)
v. - escoar, cair, caducar, prescrever

Русский (Russian)
отклоняться, проходить (о времени), терять силу, оплошность, отклонение, течение, перерыв

Español (Spanish)
n. - error, equivocación, lapso, desliz, recaída, mal paso
v. intr. - deslizarse, pasar, transcurrir, decaer, caer en desuso, alejarse, descender
v. tr. - errar, tener un lapso o desliz

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - lapsus, förbiseende, misstag, felsteg, försyndelse, avfall, avvikelse, nedsjunkande, fall, återfall, upphörande, tillbakagång, upphörande av rätt(ighet), förlopp, tidrymd, flöde, glidande
v. - sjunka ned, förfalla, återfalla, upphöra, komma ur bruk, bli ogiltig, utlöpa, återg

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
过失, 失效, 流逝, 失检, 陷入, 背离, 使失效

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 過失, 失效, 流逝
v. intr. - 失檢, 陷入, 背離, 流逝
v. tr. - 使失效

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 경과, 전락, 착오, 실패
v. intr. - 경과하다, 잘못 생각하다, 쇠퇴하다, 타락하다
v. tr. - 잘못하다 , 전락시키다 , 잃다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 経過, ちょっとした誤り, 消滅, 失効, 陥ること, それること, 堕落, 廃止
v. - 陥る, それる, 消滅する, たつ, 経過する, しくじる, 堕落する, 無効になる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) زله, هفوة, سقوط مؤقت إلى وضع أدنى, هبوط وبخاصه هبوط في الحرارة أو الضغط, انحطاط, انقطاع, ارتداد عن دين, مرور أو إنقضاء الزمن أو فترة زمنيه (فعل) يزل, يرتكب هفوة, يسقط مؤقتا إلى وضع أدنى, يرتد عن السبيل القويم أخلاقيا أو دينيا, ينحدر تدريجيا إلى العادات السيئه, ينقطع أو يزول, يمر أو ينقضي الزمن‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮משגה, פליטת פה, פליטת קולמוס, עבירה, סטייה, תפוגת-זכות, פקיעה‬
v. intr. - ‮הידרדר, פג, פקע, עבר, שקע‬
v. tr. - ‮איפשר לעבור, לשקוע, לפוג‬

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