lateral
adjective
lat·er·al
| \ ˈla-tə-rəl also ˈla-trəl
\
\
Definition of lateral
(Entry 1 of 3)
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
lateral
nounDefinition of lateral (Entry 2 of 3)
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
verb
lateraled;
lateraling;
laterals
Definition of lateral (Entry 3 of 3)
: to throw a lateral
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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 isRecent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Alaka made five tackles against the Redskins and showed lateral mobility in stopping a pass to the flat for no gain. — Childs Walker, baltimoresun.com, "Five Things We Learned from the Ravens’ 20-7 preseason win over Washington," 30 Aug. 2019 One of the sighted paddlers is the steersman, acting as a rudder on courses filled with the narrow, 40-foot-long boats and their lateral support floats. — Hillary Davis, Daily Pilot, "Local blind paddlers get set for world’s largest outrigger canoe race," 28 Aug. 2019 The stressed crystal barely contains the power of the weapon, necessitating lateral plasma vents that become the crossguard quillons. — Darren Orf, Popular Mechanics, "A Brief History of Our Love-Hate Relationship With Weird Lightsabers," 27 Aug. 2019 These cells make up the LGN, or lateral geniculate nucleus, the only pathway through which visual information travels from the outside world into the brain. — Wired, "A Single Math Model Explains Many Mysteries of Vision," 25 Aug. 2019 Get our daily newsletter Hundreds of corporate customers think jokery can encourage serious lateral thinking among workers, and get them into the habit of welcoming others’ ideas. — The Economist, "What companies can learn from comedians," 22 Aug. 2019 There would also be needed lateral bracing to support the structural steel framing for the upper level of the stadium. — Paul Gattis | Pgattis@al.com, al, "Would $8 million revitalize abandoned Huntsville stadium?," 22 Aug. 2019 These cells make up the LGN, or lateral geniculate nucleus, the only pathway through which visual information travels from the outside world into the brain. — Quanta Magazine, "A Mathematical Model Unlocks the Secrets of Vision," 21 Aug. 2019 Narcisse set up on the left side of the formation and received a lateral from quarterback Frank Harris, who took off downfield and toward the opposite sideline on a wheel route. — Greg Luca, ExpressNews.com, "Frank Harris continues to shine as UTSA holds open practice," 17 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
While all sanitary sewer work is complete on Hillside Road, the installation of sanitary sewer laterals remains. — John Benson, cleveland.com, "Seven Hills’ orange barrel season continues with septic conversions, new road project," 19 July 2019 The Miami Miracle, when the Dolphins notched a last-second win over the New England Patriots off a series of laterals, is nominated for Best Play. — Christian Simmons, sun-sentinel.com, "Miami Miracle among several ESPYS nominations that feature South Florida ties," 19 June 2019 Fixing sewer laterals costs anywhere from a few thousand dollars to more than $10,000, depending on the length of pipe needed. — Claudia Vargas, Philly.com, "'Nightmare on Monroe Street': A tiny Queen Village block's six-year feud with the Philly Water Department," 6 July 2018 Some of the laterals might still be the clay originals. — Claudia Vargas, Philly.com, "'Nightmare on Monroe Street': A tiny Queen Village block's six-year feud with the Philly Water Department," 6 July 2018 Digging up streets to install sewer laterals, which lead from the sewer main to individual homes. — Bob Sandrick, cleveland.com, "Cost of Strongsville sanitary sewer project rises by 24 percent," 30 Apr. 2018 The first crop will form on shoots directly from these arms; future crops will form on shoots from laterals off these arms. — The Editors Of Organic Life, Good Housekeeping, "How To Grow Your Own Kiwis In Your Backyard," 6 Feb. 2018 The assets being sold do not include the customer service laterals that run from the curb to each customer’s homes, or any interior plumbing in homes. — Andrew Maykuth, Philly.com, "Pa. American buys Chesco sewer system for $9.25M," 2 May 2018 Mikula said that laterals usually are installed through bores or holes drilled in the road. — Bob Sandrick, cleveland.com, "Cost of Strongsville sanitary sewer project rises by 24 percent," 30 Apr. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Sometimes, Reed drove coaches crazy by leaving a cornerback out to dry with one of his high-risk improvisations or lateraling the ball into no-man’s land. — Childs Walker, baltimoresun.com, "Ravens great Ed Reed admired for style and substance on eve of Hall of Fame enshrinement," 2 Aug. 2019 The two connected again two players later, with Higgins lateraling the ball to Nick Chubb to gain a few more yards. — Scott Patsko, cleveland.com, "Browns minicamp offensive report: Laterals and no-huddle plays rule the day," 6 June 2019 There was a play where a guy purposely lateraled past the line of scrimmage. — Jason Gay, WSJ, "Would You Watch Football Without All the Violence?," 21 Nov. 2018 Grugier-Hill didn’t bite on an option play in which Foles lateraled to Wallace and the receiver heaved a deep pass to running back Matt Jones. — Jeff Mclane, Philly.com, "Eagles practice observations: Jalen Mills locks down; Nelson Agholor explodes; Dallas Goedert catches on," 13 June 2018 Hayward pitched the ball off to Miami’s Reshad Jones, who then lateraled it to Jacksonville’s Jalen Ramsey for a return of 23 yards. — J.c. Carnahan, OrlandoSentinel.com, "AFC prevails in Pro Bowl on Delanie Walker's late TD catch," 29 Jan. 2018 Wilson tossed the ball to the running back J.D. McKissic, who then lateraled the ball back across the field to Wilson, who launched a 38-yard pass down the field. — Tim Rohan, SI.com, "Seahawks Find Their Groove in Second Half and Take Down Giants 24–7," 22 Oct. 2017 Quarterback Jared Goff completed a short pass to receiver Pharoh Cooper, who lateraled the ball to Tavon Austin. — Gary Klein, latimes.com, "Eagles 14, Rams 7: Carson Wentz throws 20-yard touchdown pass to Trey Burton," 10 Dec. 2017 The Chiefs won the toss and promptly threatened again when lineman Buck Buchanan lateraled Yepremian's short kick to Podolak, who returned to his 46. — By Bob Rubin, miamiherald, "When Christmas dinner was delayed as the Miami Dolphins played on and on," 19 Dec. 2016These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lateral.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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