lateral

American  

[lat-er-uhl] / ˈlæt ər əl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the side; situated at, proceeding from, or directed to a side.

   a lateral view.

2. pertaining to or entailing a position, office, etc., that is different but equivalent or roughly equivalent in status, as distinguished from a promotion or demotion.

   a lateral move.

3. Phonetics. articulated so that the breath passes on either or both sides of the tongue, as l.

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noun

1. a lateral part or extension, as a branch or shoot.

2. Mining. a small drift off to the side of a principal one.

3. Phonetics. a lateral speech sound.

4. Football. lateral pass.

verb (used without object)

1. Football. to throw a lateral pass.

2. to move laterally or sideways.

   migrating birds lateraling down into Cape May.

verb (used with object)

1. Football. to throw (the ball) in a lateral pass.

lateral British  

/ ˈlætərəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to the side or sides

   a lateral blow

2. phonetics (of a speech sound like l ) pronounced with the tip of the tongue touching the centre of the alveolar ridge, leaving space on one or both sides for the passage of the airstream

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noun

1. a lateral object, part, passage, or movement

2. phonetics a lateral speech sound

3. botany a branch, leaf, or bud that grows out from the side of a stem or trunk

Other Word Forms

• laterally
  adverb
• pseudolateral
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of lateral

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin laterālis “of the side,” equivalent to later- (stem of latus ) “side” + -ālis -al ¹

Explanation

When something is extending to the side or moving to the side, it’s lateral. "All of the lateral movement in tennis hurt her knees and she had to quit playing." The adjective lateral comes from the Latin word lateralis, which means “belonging to the side” and the modern meaning is basically the same. In anatomy, views of the body from the left, as well as from the right are referred to as lateral. You can make a lateral career move, if the compensation and level of responsibility stay about the same (instead of moving up, you are moving to the side). A lateral pass in football is one that goes to the side or behind the passer, instead of directly towards the goal.

Example Sentences

The 5-year project, Accelerating Medicines Partnership in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, announced this week, is intended to centralize current and future ALS data sets and to identify therapeutic targets and biomarkers enabling early diagnosis.

From Science Magazine • May 22, 2024

Lateral arrangements offer a special advantage, confining charge carriers to a single plane and paving the way for exceptional "in-plane" electronic devices.

From Science Daily • Feb. 8, 2024

Lorena Silva, who assisted with the effort, said she helped locate farms operated by pioneers, contact families and document a school on Lateral A she once attended as a small child.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 11, 2024

Lateral movement is back after the nagging hip injury hampered him for quite some time.

From Washington Times • Nov. 29, 2023

For the Lateral Luxations, the Extension may be made in like manner; the Surgeon at the same time thrusting back the Bone into its Natural Situation.

From The Compleat Surgeon or, the whole Art of Surgery explain'd in a most familiar Method. by Le Clerc, Charles Gabriel