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

This area, called the lateral parafacial region, is located in the brainstem, the oldest part of the brain responsible for automatic functions like breathing, digestion, and heart rate.

From Science Daily

"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

More than a quarter of people who recently switched jobs took pay cuts, and 16.3% settled for lateral moves, according to ZipRecruiter.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

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

From Los Angeles Times