lapsed

/læpst/

//læpst// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"lapsed" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“lapsed” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,237. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,237
frequency rank, English
2,297
“L” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
16
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past and past participle of lapse

Corpus desk

Index EN-lapsed · lapsed · English

lapsed · rank #31,237 · 9 variants · 16 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,237
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 16 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,297
  • PHOTO-FINISH Langford

Nearest frequency peer: Langford (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “lapsed”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “lapsed” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

lapsed vs laser
67% similar
lapsed vs lasted
67% similar
lapsed vs leased
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for lapsed
PropertyValue
Headwordlapsed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/læpst/
Letters6
Frequency rank#31,237
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs16
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “lapsed”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).lapsedlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Langford” (#31,236), “Lasalle” (#31,238), “labourer” (#31,235). Among 2,297 “L” headwords, “lapsed” is #31,237. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around lapsed (IPA /læpst/), averb. Corpus frequency is #31,237 among 2,297 “L” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past and past participle of lapse".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for lapsed, with forms such as "alpsed", "lapesd", and "lappsed". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "laser", "lasted", "leased", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is lapsed, spelled L-A-P-S-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of lapse

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • alpsed
  • lapesd
  • lappsed
  • lapsde
  • lapsedd
  • lapssed
  • lasped
  • llapsed
  • lpased

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lapsed - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

alpsed2lapesd2lappsed1lapsde2lapsedd1lapssed1lasped2llapsed1
Edit distance from "lapsed"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lapsed"?
"lapsed" is spelled L-A-P-S-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /læpst/.
What does "lapsed" mean?
As a verb, "lapsed" means: simple past and past participle of lapse
What words are commonly confused with "lapsed"?
"lapsed" is commonly confused with "laser", "lasted", "leased". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lapsed"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lapsed" is /læpst/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lapsed" come from?
"lapsed" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lapsed", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

kiddie#31,233Lilith#31,242Kasich#31,230Mackey#31,247

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

katniss9 variantsJuliana9 variantshubris9 variantshaggard9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list