VS.

# Linear vs. Lateral

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Having the form of a line; straight.

To the side; of or pertaining to the side.

‘Instead of a promotion, I opted for a lateral move to a similar position in the marketing department.’;

Of or relating to lines.

Non-linear or unconventional, as in, lateral thinking.

Made in a step-by-step, logical manner.

(anatomy) Pertaining to the left or right of the body; further from the midline.

‘The medial side of the knee faces the other knee, while the outer side of the knee is lateral.’; ‘A fish senses changes in hydrodynamic pressure with its lateral line.’;

Long and narrow, with nearly parallel sides.

(physics) At right angles to a line of motion or strain.

(mathematics) Of or relating to a class of polynomial of the form $y = ax + b$.

Pertaining to sounds generated by partially blocking the egress of the airstream with the tip of the tongue touching the alveolar ridge, leaving space on one or both sides of the occlusion for air passage.

(physics) A type of length measurement involving only one spatial dimension as opposed to area or volume.

‘a linear meter’;

Lateralnoun

An object, such as a passage or a protrusion, that is situated on the side of something else.

Of or pertaining to a line; consisting of lines; in a straight direction; lineal.

Lateralnoun

(linguistics) A sound produced through lateral pronunciation (such as /l/ in lateral).

Like a line; narrow; of the same breadth throughout, except at the extremities; as, a linear leaf.

Lateralnoun

(American football) A lateral pass.

Thinking in a step-by-step analytical and logical fashion; contrasted with holistic, i.e. thinking in terms of complex interrelated patterns; as, linear thinkers.

‘Linear thinkers concluded that by taking the world apart, the actions of people were more predictable and controllable.’;

Lateralnoun

(business) An employee hired for a position at the same organizational level or salary as their previous position.

designating or involving an equation whose terms are of the first degree

Lateralverb

To move (oneself or something) in a lateral direction.

of or in or along or relating to a line; involving a single dimension;

‘a linear foot’;

Lateralverb

(American football) To execute a lateral pass.

of a circuit or device having an output that is proportional to the input;

‘analogue device’; ‘linear amplifier’;

Of or pertaining to the sides; as, the lateral walls of a house; the lateral branches of a tree.

of a leaf shape; long and narrow

Lying at, or extending toward, the side; away from the mesial plane; external; - opposed to mesial.

measured lengthwise;

‘cost of lumber per running foot’;

Directed to the side; as, a lateral view of a thing.

arranged in or extending along a straight or nearly straight line

‘linear movement’;

Lateralnoun

A short pass to a receiver who is upfield from the passer, i.e. is behind the passer relative to the direction of the passer's goal.

consisting of or predominantly formed using lines or outlines

‘simple linear designs’;

Lateralnoun

A part or extension of something that points sideways, as a drift in a mine that goes to the side from the main one.

involving one dimension only

‘linear elasticity’;

Lateralverb

To pass the footbal to a receiver who is behind the passer; to make a lateral pass; as, the ball was lateraled to the fullback, who ran it for a touchdown.

able to be represented by a straight line on a graph

‘linear functions’;

Lateralnoun

a pass to a receiver upfield from the passer

involving or exhibiting directly proportional change in two related quantities

‘linear relationship’;

situated at or extending to the side;

‘the lateral branches of a tree’; ‘shot out sidelong boughs’;

progressing from one stage to another in a single series of steps; sequential

‘a linear narrative’;