lateral
Other forms: laterals
When something is extending to the side or moving to the side, it’s lateral. "All of the lateral movement in tennis hurt her knees and she had to quit playing."
The adjective lateral comes from the Latin word lateralis, which means “belonging to the side” and the modern meaning is basically the same. In anatomy, views of the body from the left, as well as from the right are referred to as lateral. You can make a lateral career move, if the compensation and level of responsibility stay about the same (instead of moving up, you are moving to the side). A lateral pass in football is one that goes to the side or behind the passer, instead of directly towards the goal.
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situated at or extending to the side
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lying away from the median and sagittal plane of a body“lateral lemniscus”synonyms:distaldirected away from the midline or mesial plane of the body
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(American football) a pass parallel to the line of scrimmage or away from an opponent's goal linesynonyms: lateral passtype of:pass, passing, passing game, passing play(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammate
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Vocabulary lists containing lateral
Whether you're a diehard fan or you still get offside and offense confused, toss around this football vocabulary and you'll be ready for the big game.
These vocabulary words should be easy to master for football fans already familiar their definitions in a football context. See the football-specific definitions here.
