/læps ||; læps/verb[I] 1 (used about a contract, an agreement, etc) to finish or stop, often by accident （指合同、协议等）终止，到期（往往出于偶然原因）: My membership has lapsed because I forgot to renew it. 我忘了办续期手续，结果丧失了会籍。
2 to become weaker or stop for a short time 减退；短暂停止: My concentration lapsed during the last part of the exam. 我在考试的最后部份精神不大集中。
lapse into sth to gradually pass into a worse or less active state or condition; to start speaking or behaving in a less acceptable way 陷入某种状态:
to lapse into silence/a coma 安静下来；陷入昏迷