lapse rate

noun

: the adiabatic rate of decrease of atmospheric temperature with increasing altitude

Examples of lapse rate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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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. 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

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lapse rate was in 1918

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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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