Words / C1

i-LAPS/ɪˈlæps/

To elapse is said of time passing: three hours elapsed, a year had elapsed. Pass is everyday; expire is for dates and documents ending; remain sits opposite. Clock time with no spare is a rota failure, not “flow”.

Meaning

Of time, to pass.

Examples

• “Three hours elapsed with no spare invigilator; that is a rota failure, not “flow”.”
• “Pass is everyday. Go by is informal. Expire is already in this course for endings of validity. Flow is a slogan. A blank on the grid is a gap. Name the spare before the hours start, not after they have elapsed.”

Good to know

Of time: pass. Everyday: pass. Contrast: expire (validity ends). Clock time with a blank rota is a failure, not flow.

Near in meaning

pass

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