laterally
/ˈlæ.tə.ɹə.li/adverb
laterally is spelled L-A-T-E-R-A-L-L-Y: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, laterally means “Done in a lateral manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in laterally?
| Letters | 9: L-A-T-E-R-A-L-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,393rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is laterally?
Laterally appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce laterally?
- US /ˈlæ.tə.ɹə.li/
- US [ˈlæ.ɾə.ɹə.li]
Laterally has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Qwertygiy-laterally.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does laterally mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Done in a lateral manner.
- 2
Relating to the direction to the side.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Laterally in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense done in a lateral manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | latéralement |
| German | lateral |
| Portuguese | lateralmente |
| Spanish | lateralmente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does laterally come from?
From lateral + -ly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).