2. a failure of something to work properly O I must have had a lapse of memory. ■ verb 1. to stop O All rubbish collections lapsed dur- ing the strike. 2. to stop being valid O My parking permit has lapsed, I must get it re- newed. 3. □ to lapse into something to fall into a worse state than before O The country lapsed into anarchy when the president was assassinated. O After the brain operation, she lapsed into a coma from which she never