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

"We discovered that, in conditions of high blood pressure, the lateral parafacial region is activated and, when our team inactivated this region, blood pressure fell to normal levels."

From Science Daily • Mar. 22, 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

Gunn died Monday at his Toronto home following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, according to an obituary.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2026

Now they had firsthand accounts that volcanoes could—and did—erupt with violent lateral blasts as well as vertical blasts.

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone