You searched for: “relapse”
laps, laps, lapse, lapse, Lapps, elapse, relapse
laps (LAPS) (noun)
1. The flat spots created when people are seated which are formed by the tops of the thighs and the upright portions of the abdomen: The children sat in a circle on the rug with a toy on their laps.
2. The distance covered, as on a racecourse: Leonar ran three laps around the track before tripping and falling down just before the finish line.
laps (LAPS) (verb)
1. To overlay two surfaces in such a manner that there is little or no space between them: The roofer carefully laps the new shingles so the rain will not get in.
3. To move food or liquid to the mouth using the tongue: The dog laps the water quickly because it is very thirsty.
lapse (LAPS) (noun)
An error usually caused by forgetfulness: Mildred's lapse of memory seemed to be caused by her illness over several months.
lapse (LAPS) (verb)
1. To end protection or coverage in an insurance policy due to lack of payment: Mike's health care plan is about to lapse, so he thinks he'd better send a check right away.
2. To subside or to sink away gradually from a typical pattern of belief or behavior: Brittney was ill and slowly began to lapse into a coma.
Lapps (LAPS) (noun)
People who live in the Northern Scandinavian countries, Finland, and Northern Russia who were historically known as nomadic hunters: During Trina's circumpolar travels, she noticed that the Lapps wore warm and colorful clothing during the winter.
elapse (i LAPS) (noun)
A passage or gap in time between events: There was an elapse of ten years from the time Marvin left home until he decided to return.
relapse (ri LAPS) (noun)
A backsliding, recurrence, or worsening: Dr. Smith told her patient that she was experiencing a relapse of her former illness and should go to bed to rest.

At the international racing competition, the Lapps ran three consecutive laps when they only needed to run two laps; the runners later decided they had a slight lapse of memory about how many laps to run.

They were so tired that they sat on the benches with bottles of water on their laps and they joked that they hoped that they didn't have another relapse of memory or at least not until there was an elapse of several years.

This entry is located in the following units: Confusing Words Clarified: Group L; Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs, Synonyms, Polysemes, etc. + (page 1) laps-, lab- (page 2)
relapse, relapses, relapsed, relapsing (verb forms)
1. To fall back into a former mood, state, or way of life; especially, a bad or undesirable one, after coming out of it for a while.
2. To become ill again after seeming to have made a recovery.
3. A return to a former mood, state, or way of life; especially, a bad or undesirable one, after coming out of it for a while.
4. Backsliding; that is, to go back to a bad behavior; to regress, to revert.

The return of signs and symptoms of a disease after a patient has enjoyed a remission. For example, after treatment a patient with cancer of the colon went into remission with no sign or symptom of the tumor, remained in remission for four years, but then suffered a relapse and had to be treated once again for colon cancer.

This entry is located in the following unit: laps-, lab- (page 3)