All 3 Uses

lapse
in
Black Boy
(Edited)

I was paid under a system that netted me fifteen dollars for every dollar's worth of new premiums that I placed upon the company's books, and for every dollar's worth of old premiums that lapsed I was penalized fifteen dollars.
Chpt 2.16

lapsed = ended or terminated
I considered myself lucky if, after subtracting lapses from new business, there remained fifteen dollars that I could call my own.
Chpt 2.16

lapses = ended (business)
Whenever a black family moved or suffered a slight reverse in fortune, it usually let its policy lapse and later bought another policy from some other company.
Chpt 2.16 *

lapse = end or terminate

Definitions:

(1) (lapse as in: a lapse in judgement)
a change in behavior or state--usually undesired such as a temporary failure
The exact meaning of this sense of lapse is often subject to its context:
- example indicating an undesired change in behavior -- "lapsed into alcoholism"
- example indicating that the change was short-term and due to a failure (often of effort or diligence) -- "a lapse in judgment"
- example indicating return to a previous undesired behavior or state -- "lapsed into her old bad habits"
- examples indicating a change in what was occurring where the change is not necessarily negative -- "There was a lapse in the conversation," or "She stopped talking as she lapsed into her own internal world."
(2) (lapse as in: allowed the policy to lapse)
end or terminate -- often of legal rights or of a person's association with an organization
(3) (lapse as in: after the lapse of many hours)
a period of time -- often a period that has passed
(4) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)