lat

1 of 3

noun

ˈlat 

plural lats

informal

: a broad, flat muscle of the middle and lower back : latissimus dorsi

—usually plural

In centuries past, people did not act like captive hamsters. If a person chopped wood or ran a long way, it was because he or she needed fuel or wanted to get somewhere. Now we do such things to fit into new pants or develop our lats.

—Rick Telander

lat

2 of 3

abbreviation (1)

latitude

LAT

3 of 3

abbreviation (2)

local apparent time

Examples of lat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The right-hander missed the first three months of the season after suffering a lat strain during spring training. —Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 24 June 2025

Ellard has been on the IL since May 4 with a left lat strain. —Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 9 June 2025

The Yankees also expect Luis Gil back from a lat strain this summer, potentially leading to more clutter in the rotation. —Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 5 June 2025

After throwing three warm-up pitches before the bottom of the sixth inning, López left with what the Twins are calling a lat strain. —Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 4 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1939, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lat

• aught
• baht
• blot
• bott
• bought
• brought
• caught
• clot
• cot
• cott
• dot
• fought

Medical Definition

lat

noun

ˈlat 

: latissimus dorsi

—usually used in plural