a short or temporary period when you fail or forget to do things in the right way 小错；过失；疏忽 | The man admitted driving over the speed limit and apologized for the lapse. 这位男子承认自己超速驾驶并为自己的过失道了歉。 |
| +of She was angered by her momentary lapse of control. 她为自己一时失控而气恼。 |
| +in Today showed that I can have lapses in concentration. 今天的事表示我也有精力不集中的时候。 |
| memory lapse (=a temporary failure to remember something) Members of the committee were puzzled by the memory lapses of White House officials. 记错 |
| security lapse (=a temporary failure in arrangements for people’ s safety) There have been security lapses despite efforts to protect the public. 保安措施上的疏忽 |
| | 1a | + intoa gradual or temporary change to a worse or more unusual type of behaviour or activity 行为失检；偏离正道；堕落 | | Carol’ s lapses into strong language only made her sound immature. 卡罗尔讲起了粗话，这只会让人觉得她还不成熟。 | |