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Lapse vs Miss - What's the difference?

lapse | miss |

As nouns the difference between lapse and miss

is that lapse is a temporary failure; a slip while miss is a failure to hit.

As verbs the difference between lapse and miss

is that lapse is to fall away gradually; to subside while miss is to fail to hit.

lapse

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A temporary failure; a slip.
  • * Rogers
  • to guard against those lapses and failings to which our infirmities daily expose us
  • A decline or fall in standards.
  • * Rambler
  • The lapse to indolence is soft and imperceptible.
  • A pause in continuity.
  • An interval of time between events.
  • * I. Taylor
  • Francis Bacon was content to wait the lapse of long centuries for his expected revenue of fame.
  • A termination of a right etc, through disuse or neglect.
  • (weather) A marked decrease in air temperature with increasing altitude because the ground is warmer than the surrounding air. This condition usually occurs when skies are clear and between 1100 and 1600 hours, local time. Strong convection currents exist during lapse conditions. For chemical operations, the state is defined as unstable. This condition is normally considered the most unfavorable for the release of chemical agents. See lapse rate.
  • (legal) A common-law rule that if the person to whom property is ed were to die before the testator, then the gift would be ineffective.
  • (theology) A fall or apostasy.
  • Synonyms

    * blooper, blunder, boo-boo, defect, error, fault, faux pas, fluff, gaffe, mistake, slip, stumble, thinko

    Derived terms

    * time-lapse (common law rule) * anti-lapse

    Verb

    (laps)
  • To fall away gradually; to subside.
  • * Jonathan Swift
  • a tendency to lapse into the barbarity of those northern nations from whom we are descended
  • * Addison
  • Homer, in his characters of Vulcan and Thersites, has lapsed into the burlesque character.
  • To fall into error or heresy.
  • * Shakespeare
  • To lapse in fullness / Is sorer than to lie for need.
  • To slip into a bad habit that one is trying to avoid.
  • To become void.
  • To fall or pass from one proprietor to another, or from the original destination, by the omission, negligence, or failure of somebody, such as a patron or legatee.
  • * Ayliffe
  • If the archbishop shall not fill it up within six months ensuing, it lapses to the king.

    Anagrams

    * ----

    miss

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) missen, from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (es)
  • (ambitransitive) To fail to hit.
  • I missed the target.
    I tried to kick the ball, but missed .
  • * (Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
  • Men observe when things hit, and not when they miss .
  • * (Edmund Waller) (1606-1687)
  • Flying bullets now, / To execute his rage, appear too slow; / They miss , or sweep but common souls away.
  • To fail to achieve or attain.
  • to miss an opportunity
  • * (John Locke) (1632-1705)
  • When a man misses his great end, happiness, he will acknowledge he judged not right.
  • To feel the absence of someone or something, sometimes with regret.
  • I miss you! Come home soon!
  • * (John Milton) (1608-1674)
  • What by me thou hast lost, thou least shalt miss .
  • *
  • The boy became volubly friendly and bubbling over with unexpected humour and high spirits. He tried to persuade Cicely to stay away from the ball-room for a fourth dance. Nobody would miss them, he explained.
  • To fail to understand or have a shortcoming of perception.
  • miss the joke
  • To fail to attend.
  • Joe missed the meeting this morning.
  • To be late for something (a means of transportation, a deadline, etc.).
  • I missed the plane!
  • (sports) To fail to score (a goal).
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=September 18, author=Ben Dirs, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia , passage=Georgia, ranked 16th in the world, dominated the breakdown before half-time and forced England into a host of infringements, but fly-half Merab Kvirikashvili missed three penalties.}}
  • (obsolete) To go wrong; to err.
  • * (Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
  • Amongst the angels, a whole legion / Of wicked sprites did fall from happy bliss; / What wonder then if one, of women all, did miss ?
  • (obsolete) To be absent, deficient, or wanting.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • What here shall miss , our toil shall strive to mend.
    Usage notes
    * This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing) . See
    Antonyms
    * (to fail to hit) hit, strike, impinge on, run into, collide with * (to feel the absence of) have, feature
    Derived terms
    * hit-and-miss * miss a trick * miss the mark * miss the point * miss the boat * miss fire, misfire * miss out * near miss

    Noun

    (es)
  • A failure to hit.
  • A failure to obtain or accomplish.
  • An act of avoidance.
  • I think I’ll give the meeting a miss .

    Etymology 2

    From (mistress).

    Noun

    (wikipedia miss)
  • A title of respect for a young woman (usually unmarried) with or without a name used.
  • You may sit here, miss .
    You may sit here, Miss Jones.
  • An unmarried woman; a girl.
  • * Cawthorn
  • Gay vanity, with smiles and kisses, / Was busy 'mongst the maids and misses .
  • A kept woman; a mistress.
  • (Evelyn)
  • (card games) In the game of three-card loo, an extra hand, dealt on the table, which may be substituted for the hand dealt to a player.