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

ALS — amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — is a neurological disorder that destroys motor neurons.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

"It has a large lateral breach and is not a very stable vessel at the moment, even if it is not showing any imminent signs of sinking."

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

Researchers said that within the next year they hope to have a prototype kit to detect early stage breast cancer using a lateral flow urine sample.

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

SEOUL—It was a lateral move for Kim Jong Un, merely retaining his spot atop North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026

There was Hodgkin’s disease, leukemia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller