Lateral means toward the side, or relating to the side of something. In football, a lateral pass goes sideways or slightly backward instead of forward. When you do a lateral raise in exercise, you lift your arms out to the sides of your body.

Doctors use this word to describe body parts: your ears are lateral to your nose because they're on the sides of your head. Architects talk about lateral support, meaning structures that hold a building steady from the sides, like buttresses supporting a cathedral wall.

The word also describes thinking or movement that goes sideways instead of straight ahead. Lateral thinking means solving a problem by approaching it from an unexpected angle rather than following the obvious path. If you can't figure out a puzzle by trying harder the same way, you might need to think laterally and try something completely different.

In careers, a lateral move means changing to a different job at about the same level, like a teacher moving from fifth grade to third grade, rather than moving up to become a principal. You're shifting sideways in your career rather than climbing higher or lower.