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

Example Sentences

Actor Eric Dane, who rose to fame as Dr. Mark Sloan on “Grey’s Anatomy,” died Thursday afternoon following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

From Salon

A former competitive swimmer and water polo player, he said ALS — also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s disease — initially caused the right side of his body to stop working.

From Los Angeles Times

This allows them to extract more crude from smaller pieces of land where they can’t drill one long lateral section.

From The Wall Street Journal

Those lateral interactions can alter the electronic structure and potentially disrupt true one-dimensional behavior.

From Science Daily

In 2019, she won a bronze medal at world championships without a lateral collateral ligament and three tibial fractures in her left knee.

From Los Angeles Times