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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
Examples of lateral in a Sentence
Dan Carney, Popular Science, 7 Nov. 2024
Dantzler is making a lateral move within the rebuilt Pac-12.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 1 Nov. 2024
Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2024
Lewis appeared to be taunting Pickens after recovering a wayward Steelers’ lateral as time expired.
—John Perrotto, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for lateral 
Dictionary Entries Near lateral
Cite this Entry
“Lateral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lateral. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
lateral
1 of 2 adjective
lateral
2 of 2 nounMedical Definition
lateral
adjective
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