bilateral symmetry

American  

noun

Biology.

1. a basic body plan in which the left and right sides of the organism can be divided into approximate mirror images of each other along the midline.

---

bilateral symmetry British  

noun

1. the property of an organism or part of an organism such that, if cut in only one plane, the two cut halves are mirror images of each other See also radial symmetry

---

bilateral symmetry Scientific  

/ bī-lăt′ər-əl /

1. Symmetrical arrangement of an organism or part of an organism along a central axis, so that the organism or part can be divided into two equal halves. Bilateral symmetry is a characteristic of animals that are capable of moving freely through their environments.

2. Compare radial symmetry

---

Etymology

Origin of bilateral symmetry

First recorded in 1850–55

Compare meaning

How does bilateral-symmetry compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• radial symmetry vs. bilateral symmetry

Example Sentences

Steve Gangestad and Randy Thornhill had been studying bilateral symmetry – the extent to which the two sides of your body match.

From The Guardian • Mar. 11, 2018

Hemichordates share bilateral symmetry, gill slits, soft bodies and early axial patterning with chordates, making them key comparators for inferring the ancestral genomic features of deuterostomes.

From Nature • Nov. 17, 2015

The secret may lie in their bilateral symmetry - meaning there’s only one way to fold them in half so that one side matches the other.

From Washington Times • Jan. 24, 2015

Animals with bilateral symmetry that live in water tend to have a fusiform shape: this is a tubular shaped body that is tapered at both ends.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

In some of the schemes the human traits conceived were so numerous that the bilateral symmetry and functions of the brain were ignored, and the two sides of the skull were assigned quite different functions.

From Vocational Psychology: Its Problems and Methods by Hollingworth, Harry L.