lapse into something phrasal verb (
see also lapse)
1. lapse into unconsciousness/silence/sleep etc to go into a quiet or less active state:
He lapsed into a coma and died two days later. Alison lapsed into puzzled silence.2. to begin to behave or speak in a way that you did before:
She lapsed back into her old ways. Occasionally he lapsed into his native German.3. to get into a worse state or become worse:
Following his death, the Empire lapsed into chaos. His poetry often lapses into sentimentality. [TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲