lateral

CEFRC1

/ˈlæt(ə)ɹəl/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Relating to the side rather than the middle or front.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    To the side; of or pertaining to the side.

Examples

  • Dr. Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis while at Oxford.

  • The lateral malleolus is the bone on the outside of the ankle joint.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2

Also pronounced

  • [ˈlæɾəɹəɫ]
  • /ˈlat͡ʃ(ə)ɹəl/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Situated on one side or other of the body or of an organ, especially in the region furthest from the median plane.

  2. Affecting the side or sides of the body, or confined to one side of the body.

  3. Acting or placed at right angles to a line of motion or strain.

More examples

In context

  • A fish senses changes in hydrodynamic pressure with its lateral line.

  • Instead of a promotion, I opted for a lateral move to a similar position in the marketing department.

  • The medial side of the knee faces the other knee, while the outer side of the knee is lateral.

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The cat made a blank move to the left to avoid the obstacle.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

Borrowed from Latin laterālis (“belonging to the side”), from latus (“the side or flank”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix).