la
te
ral
Plural
laterals
1
(in American football) a pass thrown either sideways or backward to another player
- The quarterback executed a perfect lateral to the running back, gaining crucial yards.
- The team's trick play involved a lateral followed by a long forward pass to the end zone.
- He fumbled the ball while attempting a lateral during the high-pressure play.
- Laterals are often risky but can lead to game-changing moments when executed correctly.
- The defense intercepted a poorly timed lateral, turning the tide of the game.
Synonyms:
2
a side growth or extension, such as a branch or shoot, emerging from the main stem or structure of a plant
- The gardener pruned the laterals to encourage more growth along the main stem.
- Tomato plants often produce laterals that should be trimmed to promote fruit development.
- The laterals of the tree were spreading too wide and needed to be cut back.
- The grapevine's laterals were carefully trained along the trellis for better exposure to sunlight.
- The plant's laterals grew vigorously, overshadowing the main stem.
Synonyms:
3
a speech sound produced by allowing the airflow to pass along the sides of the tongue
- The child struggled with pronouncing the lateral properly, substituting it with a different sound.
- The "l" in "lamp" is an example of a lateral in English phonetics.
- Linguists often study how laterals vary across different languages and dialects.
Synonyms: