Verb
in those coin-operated binoculars at scenic areas your viewing time seems to elapse almost before it has begun
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Verb
After around a trillion years, total, have elapsed since the hot Big Bang, there won’t really be any galaxies left to view other than Milkdromeda, and the star-formation rate may be effectively zero, save for the rare merger of brown dwarfs that then cross the mass threshold to become stars.—Big Think, 13 Mar. 2026 Forty-four seconds elapse between the ball going out of play off Kadioglu and Cristhian Mosquera taking the goal kick.—Stuart James, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Noun
But several minutes elapse before officers attempt to deliver oxygen or CPR.—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2026 Longer payouts mean more time elapses between when a jeweler buys a customer’s antique necklace, and when that jeweler receives a check from a refiner.—Maliya Ellis, Houston Chronicle, 1 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for elapse
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Latin elapsus, past participle of elabi, from e- + labi to slip — more at sleep