lateral

1 of 3

adjective

lat·​er·​al ˈla-tə-rəl 

 also  ˈla-trəl

1

: of or relating to the side

a lateral view

2

: situated on, directed toward, or coming from the side

the lateral branches of a tree

3

: extending from side to side

the lateral axis of an airplane

4

phonetics : produced with passage of breath around the side of a constriction formed with the tongue

\l\ is lateral

laterally adverb

lateral

2 of 3

noun

1

: a branch from the main part (as in an irrigation or electrical system)

2

: a pass in football thrown parallel to the line of scrimmage or in a direction away from the opponent's goal

3

: a lateral speech sound

lateral

3 of 3

verb

lateraled; lateraling; laterals

intransitive verb

: to throw a lateral

Did you know?

Lateral shows up in all kinds of contexts. A lateral job change is one that keeps you at about the same job level and salary. A coach might have special drills to improve his players' lateral speed and agility. The British speak of "lateral thinking", thinking that grabs ideas that may not seem to be relevant but turn out to work well—what we might call "thinking outside the box". But we know lateral best from football. A lateral pass is a pass of the ball between teammates that usually goes to the side and slightly backward from the direction in which they're advancing; unlike a forward pass, a lateral may be made from any position, and any number may be made in a single play.

Synonyms

Adjective

• side

Examples of lateral in a Sentence

Adjective

the lateral force of an earthquake

from the lateral view you can see how thick the wall really is

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

However, modern threat actors exploit lateral movement, compromised credentials and insider threats—vectors that static IAM policies cannot efficiently detect or prevent. —Sudheer Kotilingala, Forbes.com, 20 June 2025

Set on the eighth floor, the turnkey residence spans nearly 5,600 square feet of lateral living space, with an additional 1,750 square feet of rooftop terrace—a rarity in this part of town, let alone one this expansive. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 18 June 2025

Noun

San Francisco has more than 1,900 miles of sewer mains and laterals. —Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2025

Lateral shoots: When canes on climbers are trained to grow horizontally, side shoots (laterals), grow off the main canes and produce flowers. —Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Jan. 2025

Verb

The Blazers and Bulldogs were held to empty drives on the next two possessions before UAB put together a strong drive into Louisiana Tech territory that ended with Williamson grabbing his second pick of the game and lateral it to Khalil Ladler for an 80-yard touchdown return. —Evan Dudley, al, 1 Nov. 2020

By all accounts, there were no orders from Bill Belichick or Matt Patricia to lateral the ball and try to create a scoring play. —Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Dec. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Adjective, Noun, and Verb

Middle English laterale, from Latin lateralis, from later-, latus side

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1930, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing lateral

• amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• lateral bud
• lateral line
• lateral thinking

Rhymes for lateral

• anterolateral
• posterolateral
• basolateral
• contralateral
• dorsolateral
• equilateral
• ipsilateral
• multilateral
• quadrilateral
• unilateral
• ventrolateral
• bilateral

Kids Definition

lateral

1 of 2 adjective

lat·​er·​al ˈlat-ə-rəl 

ˈla-trəl

1

: of or relating to the side : located on, directed toward, or coming from the side

2

: being a part of the boundary of a solid in geometry that is not a base or completely included in a base

a lateral edge of a prism

a lateral face

laterally

-ē

adverb

lateral

2 of 2 noun

: a pass in football thrown to the side or to the rear

Medical Definition

lateral

adjective

lat·​er·​al ˈlat-ə-rəl, ˈla-trəl 

: of or relating to the side

especially, of a body part : lying at or extending toward the right or left side : lying away from the median axis of the body

the lungs are lateral to the heart

the lateral branch of the axillary artery