lateral
/ˈlætərəl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈlætərəl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈla-tə-rəl also ˈla-trəl/ (ame, mw) · /ˈlæt.ər.əl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈlæt̬.ɚ.əl/ (ame, ipa)
lateral — adjective
- lateralpositive
- more lateralcomparative
- most lateralsuperlative
1. located at, pointing towards, or connected with sideways motion — for instance,
located at, pointing towards, or connected with sideways motion — for instance, a lateral branch sprouting from a plant stem, or a lateral move to a different role in the same company.
Christopher noticed a crack running along the lateral wall of the old well.
lateral + noun for side position
The plant produces lateral branches from the main stem each spring.
Imran accepted a lateral move within the same department instead of seeking a promotion.
Dario trimmed the lateral shoots from the rose bush to encourage more flowers.
文法句型
lateral + noun
用法筆記
This is the broadest sense of lateral, appearing in physical descriptions (lateral wall, lateral movement) and abstract contexts (lateral thinking, lateral career move). Do not confuse with literal, which means exact or word-for-word.
常見錯誤
2. describing a speech sound produced when the centre of the mouth is blocked and t
describing a speech sound produced when the centre of the mouth is blocked and the breath passes around the sides of the tongue — the English /l/ is a lateral consonant.
Amihan felt the air move around the sides of her tongue while saying the /l/ sound in speech class.
Children learning to speak sometimes replace lateral sounds with other consonants such as /w/.
lateral sounds as a phonetic category
In their linguistics seminar, Romi and Heloísa compared lateral and nasal sounds across five languages.
Mert struggled to produce the lateral sound in Welsh, which uses a voiceless /l/.
- central
describes a consonant where air flows along the middle of the tongue, e.g. /s/, /t/
文法句型
lateral + noun (consonant/sound)
用法筆記
This is a technical phonetic term. A lateral consonant contrasts with a central consonant, where the air flows along the middle of the tongue rather than around the sides. The only common lateral consonant in English is /l/.
lateral — noun
- lateralsingular
- lateralsplural
1. a pass in American football thrown sideways or backward instead of forward, typi
a pass in American football thrown sideways or backward instead of forward, typically used to keep a play alive after a forward pass is no longer possible.
The quarterback threw a lateral to the running back, who gained another twelve yards.
throw + a lateral (collocation)
Yael caught the lateral and sprinted twenty yards before being tackled.
A lateral can be thrown to any player behind the line, unlike a forward pass.
The replay showed that the pass was a legal lateral, not a forward throw.
- sideways pass
more descriptive and less technical; used in informal commentary
- forward pass
the standard pass thrown towards the opponent's goal
文法句型
throw + a lateral
catch + a lateral
用法筆記
This sense is specific to American football (not association football / soccer). A lateral does not count as a forward pass and can be attempted anywhere behind the line of scrimmage. In British English, the noun lateral is rarely used outside technical contexts.
常見錯誤
lateral — verb
- lateralpresent simple I / you / we / they
- laterals3rd person singular
- lateraling-ing form
- lateraledpast simple
1. to throw a football sideways or backward to a teammate in American football, usu
to throw a football sideways or backward to a teammate in American football, usually as a quick move to keep the play going.
The receiver lateraled the ball to Asher just before his knee touched the ground.
lateral + ball + to + person
Instead of passing forward, Selim lateraled to a teammate near the sideline.
The coach yelled at them never to lateral the ball near their own end zone.
Élise lateraled backwards to Christopher, who then threw the ball downfield.
文法句型
lateral + noun (ball)
lateral to + person
用法筆記
This verb is used almost exclusively in American football commentary and coaching. It is derived by conversion from the noun lateral (noun sense 1). The past tense form lateraled is standard in American English.