as in to expire
to come to an end
in those coin-operated binoculars at scenic areas your viewing time seems to elapse almost before it has begun
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Recent Examples of elapse
Less than four minutes had elapsed in the first game of Friday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie had already seen enough.
—
Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 24 Jan. 2026
This cycle elapses across thousands of years—glacially slow to us but almost instantaneous on cosmic scales.
—K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2026
This week’s preliminary hearing was an opportunity for the plaintiffs to present their evidence to a judge, while Associated Newspapers argued that the suit should be thrown out because too much time had elapsed.
—Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 21 Jan. 2026
Out-shooting Winnipeg 10-0 after 12 minutes had elapsed, the Wild were stymied by Jets star goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for elapse
Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 24 Jan. 2026
This cycle elapses across thousands of years—glacially slow to us but almost instantaneous on cosmic scales.
—K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 24 Jan. 2026
This week’s preliminary hearing was an opportunity for the plaintiffs to present their evidence to a judge, while Associated Newspapers argued that the suit should be thrown out because too much time had elapsed.
—Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 21 Jan. 2026
Out-shooting Winnipeg 10-0 after 12 minutes had elapsed, the Wild were stymied by Jets star goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for elapse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elapse
Verb
-
Tonje, a trade-deadline pickup, and Banton, who spent time with Boston during the 2023-24 season, are on 10-day contracts that expire this weekend.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Fifth Avenue Landing currently holds a lease for that parcel, which expires in mid-2027.—
Lori Weisberg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The video, shared by the Chino Police Department, shows two vehicles stopping at a red light in front of and behind a big rig on Friday.—
Terry Castleman,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Evan Geyen stopped 20 shots in goal for Delano.—
Andrew Cornelius,
Twin Cities,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Wolverines would still need to beat Maryland to end the season and make a run in the Big Ten tournament to earn a chance at a 1-seed.—
Cameron Teague Robinson,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
-
The reunions did not end there.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Nearly every country in Europe has significantly reduced or ceased Russian energy imports since Moscow launched its full-scale war in Ukraine.—
SAM McNEIL,
Arkansas Online,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Nearly every country in Europe has significantly reduced or entirely ceased Russian energy imports since Moscow launched its full-scale war in Ukraine.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
That concludes today’s Sports Report Olympic Edition newsletter.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Serafini, who wanted to testify in his trial but was advised not to, concluded his testimony Friday morning in the evidentiary hearing.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Ending those protections could halt their authorization to work legally in the United States and expose more to possible deportation, especially the 800 people with pending applications, according to the International Refugee Assistance Project.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Trump wants Iran to completely halt its enrichment of uranium and roll back both its long-range missile program and its support for regional armed groups.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The House’s Business Affairs and Labor Committee will vote on a bill that essentially would create state-level workplace standards, in a bid to step in for lapsing federal standards and oversight.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
23 Feb. 2026
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Jefferies heard stories of mothers challenged to pay rent when child support lapsed, or forced to make choices between food and medicine.—
Steve Sadin,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The bill that already passed the Senate would have required aircraft to be equipped with a system that can receive data about the locations of other aircraft.—
Josh Funk,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
-
When a soccer player runs downfield in anticipation of the ball being passed to them, the goal is to have the ball arrive where the player will be in the future, but that mental calculation is familiar to us, intuitively, because the soccer field itself is static and unchanging.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elapse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elapse. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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