From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlaterallat‧e‧ral /ˈlætərəl/ adjective formal1SIDErelating to the sides of something, or movement to the side
The wall is weak and requires lateral support.2relating to positions, jobs, relationships etc that are at the samelevel or rank
Employees can expect lateral moves to different departments, to gain experience. —laterally adverbExamples from the Corpuslateral• a lateralpassFrom Longman Business Dictionarylaterallat‧e‧ral /ˈlætərəl/ adjective [only before a noun]HUMAN RESOURCESrelating to the same level in an organizationSYNhorizontalAt best, the typical employee can expect a few promotions and a number of lateral moves.Originlateral(1400-1500)Latinlateralis, from latus“side”
