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Definition of "elapse" []

  • To slip by; pass: Weeks elapsed before we could start renovating. (verb-intransitive)
  • Passage; lapse: met again after an elapse of many years. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "elapse" in a sentence
  • "In addition, a certain time must elapse from the injection of the serum until its antitoxic and healing activity in the affected parts of the body can develop."
  • "Mike, so about what kind of elapse of time are we talking about?"
  • "From a practical standpoint, Republicans can simply wait out the Congressional moratorium which has to be renewed every year and let it elapse, meaning that they would then be able to deliver leases to oil and gas companies allowing for exploration as close as 3 miles from the shoreline."