What does lapsed mean?
Lapsed describes something that once continued or was held but has ceased to be valid, active, or in force. It is frequently used with subscriptions, memberships, agreements, registrations, and similar arrangements: a lapsed subscription may have expired, while a lapsed membership may simply require renewal. The word can also describe people or beliefs that have fallen away from a previous affiliation or principle, although this use often carries a more formal or historical tone. As the past tense and third-person singular form of the verb lapse, it describes something stopping or becoming inactive: an agreement lapses, a subscription lapses, or a person lapses into silence. Its associations with expiry, abandonment, and gradual disengagement make it more specific and formal than simply ended. Lapsed is therefore useful when the history of a thing matters: it highlights a change from an earlier active state rather than presenting the situation as though it never existed.
Having fallen away, ceased to be valid or active, or been abandoned.
"The bank notified the customer that the dormant account had become a lapsed account."
Especially common in formal, legal, financial, and administrative contexts.
To cease, become inactive, or fall away into a condition or state.
"The registration lapsed because the renewal fee was never paid."
This is the past-tense and third-person singular form of lapse; constructions such as 'lapse into' describe a gradual transition.
A lapsed subscription has stopped, but the name stays on the list—a small reminder that inactivity and deletion are not the same thing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does lapsed come from?
The word comes through English lapse, from Latin lapsus, the past participle of labi, meaning to slide or fall. The related English forms collapse, elapse, and relapse share the same Latin root. In modern English, lapsed functions both as an adjective describing something that has ceased and as an inflected form of the verb lapse.
How lapsed is actually used
Lapsed is especially common in formal, legal, administrative, and institutional contexts. It often implies that something once existed or continued but has now stopped, expired, or fallen away; it is not usually used for something that was merely planned but never begun.
Easily confused with lapsed
Lapse is the base noun and verb, while lapsed is its past-tense and third-person verb form as well as an adjective describing something that has ceased or fallen away.