Definitions of lapse:

• noun:   a break or intermission in the occurrence of something

  Example: "A lapse of three weeks between letters"

• noun:   a failure to maintain a higher state
• noun:   a mistake resulting from inattention
• verb:   let slip

  Example: "He lapsed his membership"

• verb:   end, at least for a long time

  Example: "The correspondence lapsed"

• verb:   drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards
• verb:   pass by

  Example: "Three years elapsed"

• verb:   go back to bad behavior
• verb:   pass into a specified state or condition