bilateral
adjective
Did you know?
Since the prefix bi- means "two" in Latin, bilateral means essentially "two-sided". In the days when there were two superpowers, the U.S. and the Soviet Union regularly engaged in bilateral arms negotiations; such negotiations are much less common today. Sometimes bilateral refers to two sides of the same thing. A bilateral hip replacement, for instance, replaces both hip bones in the same operation. And bilateral symmetry (a term often used by biologists) refers to the fact that, in many organisms (such as humans), the left side is basically the mirror image of the right side.
Examples of bilateral in a Sentence
CNBC, 23 July 2025
China has called on the Philippines to return to bilateral dialogue and accused Manila of acting as a pawn in U.S. efforts to contain its rise.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 July 2025
There will be auctions to facilitate a route to market—helping removal operators sell their credits into a structured and transparent system, rather than relying solely on opaque bilateral deals.
—Phil De Luna, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
For example, the possibility of bilateral deals between the U.S. and other countries suggests that some of those costs might be avoided entirely.
—Camila Domonoske, NPR, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for bilateral
Cite this Entry
“Bilateral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bilateral. Accessed 31 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bilateral
adjective
Medical Definition
bilateral
adjective
Legal Definition
bilateral
adjective
Share