lapse into
phrasal verb
lapsed into; lapsing into; lapses into
1
: to begin using or doing (something that should be avoided) for a short period of time
He's a good writer, but he occasionally lapses into jargon.
2
: to begin to be in (a worse or less active state or condition)
The crowd lapsed into silence.
The patient lapsed into a coma.
The society lapsed into decline.
Examples of lapse into in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
There were also quirks unique to AI—such as getting derailed by ASCII art or lapsing into philosophical rambling during long tasks.
—
Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2025
Whether Miami stands pat and rolls dice with a thin cornerback room or makes a late run Douglas will say much about whether the team remains in win-now mode or is conceding and quietly lapsing into a rebuild.
—Miami Herald, 8 July 2025
Better to play the cards we were dealt with than to lapse into imagined futures.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 2 July 2025
Most Third World states, for example, that were born as democracies lapsed into dictatorships or became autocratic shortly after independence.
—Ashley J. Tellis, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for lapse into
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Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2025
Whether Miami stands pat and rolls dice with a thin cornerback room or makes a late run Douglas will say much about whether the team remains in win-now mode or is conceding and quietly lapsing into a rebuild.
—Miami Herald, 8 July 2025
Better to play the cards we were dealt with than to lapse into imagined futures.
—Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 2 July 2025
Most Third World states, for example, that were born as democracies lapsed into dictatorships or became autocratic shortly after independence.
—Ashley J. Tellis, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for lapse into
Cite this Entry
“Lapse into.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lapse%20into. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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