laterally

If you've ever seen a crab walking along the sand at the beach, you may have noticed that it walks laterally, meaning it moves sideways rather than forward.

Moving laterally refers to shifting side to side rather than forward, backward, or vertically. This term is common in sports, like when a soccer player moves laterally to avoid an opponent. In the workplace, moving laterally means changing positions or job titles within the same company, without a promotion or demotion. The word comes from the Latin lateralis, meaning "side," and applies to both physical movement and career changes.

Definitions of laterally

1. adverb

   sideways, or to the side
   “such women carry in their heads kinship knowledge of six generations depth and extending laterally among consanguineal kin as far as the grandchildren of second cousin”
2. adverb

   to a position at the same level or rank
   “the body is spindle-shaped and only slightly compressed laterally”