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in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin laterālis ( “ belonging to the side ” ) , from latus ( “ the side or flank ” ) + -ālis ( “ -al ” , adjectival suffix ) .
Pronunciation
Adjective
lateral (comparative more lateral , superlative most lateral )
To the side ; of or pertaining to the side .
( anatomy , zootomy ) Situated on one side or other of the body or of an organ , especially in the region furthest from the median plane .
Antonym: medial
The medial side of the knee faces the other knee, while the outer side of the knee is lateral .
A fish senses changes in hydrodynamic pressure with its lateral line.
( pathology ) Affecting the side or sides of the body, or confined to one side of the body.
( physics ) Acting or placed at right angles to a line of motion or strain .
At the same level in hierarchy or rank, especially pertaining to a movement that does not involve a change in rank, status, or level.
Instead of a promotion, I opted for a lateral move to a similar position in the marketing department.
lateral hiring
a lateral transfer
( UK ) Non-linear or unconventional , as in, lateral thinking .
( phonetics , phonology ) ( of a consonant , especially the English clear l ) Pertaining to speech sounds generated by partially blocking the egress of the airstream with the tongue , leaving space on one or both sides of the occlusion for air passage.
Antonyms
Coordinate terms
Derived terms
Translations
of or pertaining to the side
Albanian: anshëm (sq)
Armenian: կողմնային (hy) ( koġmnayin )
Bulgarian: страничен (bg) ( straničen )
Catalan: lateral (ca)
Czech: postranní (cs) , boční (cs)
Esperanto: lateralo
Finnish: sivuttainen , sivu- (fi)
French: latéral (fr)
Galician: lateral (gl)
German: lateral (de) , seitlich (de) , Seiten-
Hungarian: oldalsó (hu) , oldalirányú (hu) , oldal- (hu)
Ido: laterala (io)
Irish: cliathánach
Italian: laterale (it)
Japanese: 横 (ja) ( yoko )
Persian: جانبی ( jânebi ) , کناری ( kenâri )
Polish: lateralny , boczny (pl)
Portuguese: lateral (pt)
Romanian: lateral (ro)
Russian: боково́й (ru) ( bokovój ) , латера́льный (ru) ( latɛrálʹnyj )
Serbo-Croatian: бочни , латералан
Spanish: lateral (es)
Tagalog: panagiliran
pertaining to the left or right of the body
pertaining to certain sounds
Noun
lateral (plural laterals )
An object, such as a passage or a protrusion , that is situated on the side of something else.
( linguistics ) A sound produced through lateral pronunciation (such as /l/ in lateral ).
Coordinate terms: approximant , fricative , nasal , trill , plosive
( American football ) A lateral pass .
( business ) An employee hired for a position at the same organizational level or salary as their previous position.
A lateral canal , a canal built alongside an existing stream.
1956 , United States House Appropriations Committee, Public Works Appropriations for 1957 , page 703:
Canal and laterals , section 4, and the first part of section 5; and Miller Canal and laterals .
1971 , Howard S. Latham, James M. Verzuh, Reducing Hazards to People and Animals on Reclamation ... , page 7:Two-thirds of the drownings, or 103, occurred along the back of the canal or lateral . 4 drownings per year occurred in reaches of canals or laterals protected by fencing.
Translations
sound produced through lateral pronunciation
See also
Verb
lateral (third-person singular simple present laterals , present participle lateralling or lateraling , simple past and past participle lateralled or lateraled )
To move (oneself or something) in a lateral direction.
( American football ) To execute a lateral pass .
Derived terms
References
“lateral ”, in Lexico , Dictionary.com ; Oxford University Press , 2019–2022 .
“lateral ”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary , Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster , 1996–present.
William Dwight Whitney , Benjamin E Smith , editors (1911 ), “lateral ”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co. , →OCLC .
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin laterālis .
Pronunciation
Adjective
lateral m or f (masculine and feminine plural laterals )
lateral
Derived terms
Noun
lateral m or f by sense (plural laterals )
wingback
( castells ) a casteller in the pinya , who stands beside the baix and holds the legs of one of the segons to prevent them from swaying sideways
Further reading
“lateral ”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies , April 2007
“lateral ”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana , Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana , 2025.
“lateral” in Diccionari normatiu valencià , Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua .
“lateral” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear , Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
German
Etymology
In the 20th century, from Latin laterālis .
Pronunciation
Adjective
lateral (strong nominative masculine singular lateraler , not comparable )
lateral
Declension
Positive forms of lateral (uncomparable )
Indonesian
Etymology
Internationalism , borrowed from Dutch lateraal , from French latéral , from Latin laterālis .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /la.tə.ˈral/
Rhymes: -ral
Hyphenation: la‧tê‧ral
Adjective
latêral (comparative lebih lateral , superlative paling lateral )
lateral :
to the side; of or pertaining to the side
( phonetics , phonology ) pertaining to speech sounds generated by partially blocking the egress of the airstream with the tongue, leaving space on one or both sides of the occlusion for air passage
Noun
latêral (plural lateral -lateral )
lateral :
( anatomy ) an object, such as a passage or a protrusion, that is situated on the side of something else
( phonetics , phonology ) a sound produced through lateral pronunciation (such as /l/ in lateral )
Further reading
Interlingua
Adjective
lateral (not comparable )
lateral
Portuguese
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin laterālis . Doublet of ladral , which was inherited.
Pronunciation
Rhymes: -al , -aw
Hyphenation: la‧te‧ral
Adjective
lateral m or f (plural laterais )
lateral ( of, pertaining to or located in the side )
of lesser importance
Derived terms
Noun
lateral f (plural laterais )
( sports ) sideline ( line defining the side boundary of a playing field )
( sports ) throw-in ( set-piece where the ball is thrown back into play )
( phonetics ) lateral ( sound in which the airstream proceeds along the sides of the tongue )
Noun
lateral m or f by sense (plural laterais )
( sports ) winger ( offensive player who plays on either side of the centre )
Synonym: ala
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French latéral , from Latin lateralis .
Adjective
lateral m or n (feminine singular laterală , masculine plural laterali , feminine and neuter plural laterale )
lateral
Declension
Spanish
Etymology
From Latin laterālis .
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /lateˈɾal/
Rhymes: -al
Syllabification: la‧te‧ral
Adjective
lateral m or f (masculine and feminine plural laterales )
lateral , to the side
( linguistics ) lateral
Derived terms
Noun
lateral m or f by sense (plural laterales )
( linguistics ) lateral
( soccer ) full-back , fullback ( a player who plays on the left or right side of defence )
( soccer ) throw-in
Synonyms: saque lateral , saque de banda
See also
Further reading
Swedish
Adjective
lateral (not comparable )
to the side , lateral
( linguistics ) lateral
Declension
Inflection of lateral
Indefinite
positive
comparative
superlative1
common singular
lateral
—
—
neuter singular
lateralt
—
—
plural
laterala
—
—
masculine plural2
laterale
—
—
Definite
positive
comparative
superlative
masculine singular3
laterale
—
—
all
laterala
—
—
1 The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.2 Dated or archaic.3 Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
Noun
lateral c
( linguistics ) a lateral consonant , a lateral
Declension
Further reading