lapse
noun
[ laps ]
• a brief or temporary failure of concentration, memory, or judgement.
• "a lapse of concentration in the second set cost her the match"
Similar:
failure,
failing,
slip,
error,
mistake,
blunder,
fault,
omission,
oversight,
negligence,
dereliction,
slip-up,
fail,
• an interval or passage of time.
• "there was a considerable lapse of time between the two events"
Similar:
interval,
gap,
pause,
intermission,
interlude,
lull,
hiatus,
break,
passage,
course,
passing,
period,
term,
span,
spell,
lapse
verb
• (of a right, privilege, or agreement) become invalid because it is not used, claimed, or renewed; expire.
• "he let his membership of CND lapse"
Similar:
expire,
become void,
become invalid,
run out,
terminate,
become obsolete,
expired,
void,
invalid,
out of date,
terminated,
discontinued,
unrenewed,
• pass gradually into (an inferior state or condition).
• "the country has lapsed into chaos"
Similar:
deteriorate,
decline,
fall,
fall off,
drop,
worsen,
degenerate,
decay,
rot,
backslide,
regress,
retrogress,
get worse,
sink,
wane,
slump,
fail,
go downhill,
go to pot,
go to the dogs,
go down the toilet,
hit the skids,
Origin:
late Middle English: from Latin lapsus, from labi ‘to glide, slip, or fall’; the verb reinforced by Latin lapsare ‘to slip or stumble’.
