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lapse rate
noun
: the adiabatic rate of decrease of atmospheric temperature with increasing altitude
Examples of lapse rate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Insurers counted on policy lapse rates — people giving up their policies or defaulting on payments — of about 4 percent annually.
—Jonel Aleccia, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2023
This is called the lapse rate.
—Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2022
Rather than endure the metropolis’s dog-day heat, the smart money—like Beijing’s Quing emperors or Fifth Avenue railroad tycoons—ascended to the nearest mountain top to take full advantage of the lapse rate.
—Andrew Nelson, WSJ, 10 Aug. 2022
That created a very intense lapse rate in the atmosphere, where air temperature decreased very rapidly with altitude.
—Robin George Andrews, National Geographic, 13 Aug. 2019
At Genworth, McInerney says, the lapse rate is only 0.7%, which seems to be close to the industry average.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2019
Insurers didn’t wake up to the triple whammy of low investment returns, underestimated lapse rates and unexpectedly long-lived claims for decades, when customers reached their 70s and 80s and began filing claims.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2019
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Word History
First Known Use
1918, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near lapse rate
Cite this Entry
“Lapse rate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lapse%20rate. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
More from Merriam-Webster on lapse rate
Britannica English: Translation of lapse rate for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about lapse rate
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