lapse rate
noun
: the adiabatic rate of decrease of atmospheric temperature with increasing altitude
Examples of lapse rate in a Sentence
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Additional factors include unstable lapse rates near the storm’s center, low vertical wind shear, high humidity from the surface to mid-levels, and a triggering tropical wave—often originating off the coast of Africa.
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Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Sep. 2025
Insurers counted on policy lapse rates — people giving up their policies or defaulting on payments — of about 4 percent annually.
—Jonel Aleccia, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2023
Rather than endure the metropolis’s dog-day heat, the smart money—like Beijing’s Quing emperors or Fifth Avenue railroad tycoons—ascended to the nearest mountain top to take full advantage of the lapse rate.
—Andrew Nelson, WSJ, 10 Aug. 2022
This is called the lapse rate.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2022
That created a very intense lapse rate in the atmosphere, where air temperature decreased very rapidly with altitude.
—Robin George Andrews, National Geographic, 13 Aug. 2019
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Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Sep. 2025
Insurers counted on policy lapse rates — people giving up their policies or defaulting on payments — of about 4 percent annually.
—Jonel Aleccia, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2023
Rather than endure the metropolis’s dog-day heat, the smart money—like Beijing’s Quing emperors or Fifth Avenue railroad tycoons—ascended to the nearest mountain top to take full advantage of the lapse rate.
—Andrew Nelson, WSJ, 10 Aug. 2022
This is called the lapse rate.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2022
That created a very intense lapse rate in the atmosphere, where air temperature decreased very rapidly with altitude.
—Robin George Andrews, National Geographic, 13 Aug. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Lapse rate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lapse%20rate. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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