laterally

/ˈlætərəli/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈlætərəli/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈlatərəlē, ˈlatərə-, ˈla‧trə-, -li/ (ame, mw)

laterally — 副詞

1. in a direction towards or from the side, as opposed to forwards, backwards, or v

1.副詞B2
釋義

側向地；橫向地

朝側面方向移動或延伸

in a direction towards or from the side, as opposed to forwards, backwards, or vertically

例句

The car skidded laterally across the icy road before hitting the barrier.

那輛車在結冰的路面上側向打滑，直到撞上護欄才停下來。

collocation: skid + laterally (uncontrolled sideways movement)

Elena stretched her arms laterally to loosen her shoulders before the weightlifting session.

Elena 在舉重訓練前向兩側伸展手臂，以放鬆肩膀。

同義詞
  • sideways

    more common in everyday English; 'laterally' is slightly more formal

  • sidewards

    less common and mostly used in British English; same meaning

反義詞

文法句型

move + laterally

spread + laterally

extend + laterally

用法筆記

Commonly paired with verbs of movement (move, shift, slide), growth (spread, expand, extend), or positioning (place, position). In everyday speech, 'sideways' is more frequent; 'laterally' sounds more formal or technical.

常見錯誤

❌The plant grew lateral along the fence.
✅The plant grew laterally along the fence.
💡'lateral' is an adjective; the adverb 'laterally' is needed to describe how the plant grew.
❌He moved the ladder in a lateral direction.
✅He moved the ladder laterally.
💡The adverb form is more natural and concise.

2. in a direction away from the centre line of the body, or positioned towards the

2.副詞C1
釋義

外側地

遠離身體中線的方向

in a direction away from the centre line of the body, or positioned towards the outer side of a body part

例句

The doctor asked Deepa to raise her leg laterally away from her body to test her hip mobility.

醫生請 Deepa 將腿部向外側抬高，以測試她的髖關節活動度。

collocation: raise + laterally (anatomical movement)

An X-ray revealed that the patient's kneecap had shifted laterally after the fall on the ice.

X 光片顯示，病人在冰上跌倒後，膝蓋骨已向外側偏移。

反義詞

文法句型

move + laterally

raise + laterally

extend + laterally

用法筆記

Primarily used in medical, anatomical, and physiotherapy contexts. The reference point is always the body's midline (the sagittal plane). Distinguish from sense 1, where 'laterally' means sideways in general — sense 2 has a specific anatomical reference frame.

常見錯誤

❌The bone moved to the lateral.
✅The bone moved laterally.
💡Use the adverb 'laterally', not the adjective 'lateral' as a noun.

3. in the production of certain speech sounds, when the airstream is blocked at the

3.副詞C1
釋義

側流地

氣流從舌側通過的發音方式

in the production of certain speech sounds, when the airstream is blocked at the centre of the mouth and escapes around one or both sides of the tongue

例句

The linguistics professor explained that the English "l" sound is produced laterally by all native speakers.

語言學教授解釋說，英語的「l」音是所有母語者以側流方式發出的。

collocation: produced + laterally (phonetics)

When Xin pronounced the word "glow," the air flowed laterally around both sides of her tongue.

當 Xin 發出「glow」這個詞時，氣流從她舌頭的兩側流出。

air + flow + laterally + sides of tongue

反義詞
  • centrally

    with the airstream flowing over the centre of the tongue, as in most speech sounds

文法句型

produced + laterally

articulated + laterally

用法筆記

A technical term used almost exclusively in phonetics and linguistics. Not encountered in everyday conversation. The most common English sound produced laterally is the consonant /l/.