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Glite Dictionary
lateral pass

lateral pass

5.8
A pass that goes sideways or backward instead of forward in American football
  • noun
  • /ˈlætərəl pæs/
  • Jargon
translation icon : pase lateral
  • The quarterback made a lateral pass to his running back to keep the play alive.

Examples

  • During the game, the team used a lateral pass to confuse the defense.

  • It's just a lateral pass in football.

    Blog text (32)

  • The players practiced their lateral pass techniques to improve their offensive strategy.

Synonyms

lateral
vslateral pass
  • Jargon
3 7.1

A pass in American football that goes sideways or backward to a teammate

is the full two-word phrase rather than the shorter single word form

Surface Forms

lateral pass singular
lateral passes plural

Morphology

lateral + pass

The meaning is directly compositional: 'lateral' (sideways/backward) modifies 'pass' (sending the ball), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes a sideways or backward pass in football. This is a literal, sports-specific compound found across languages (e.g. Spanish/French equivalents), making the sense immediately predictable rather than idiomatic.

Etymology

Lateral pass comes from the image of a player throwing the ball to the side: lateral means 'to the side' and pass means 'to throw to a teammate'. So in American football a lateral pass is exactly a throw made 'to the side' or 'behind' the thrower, not forward, and that is why it means a side or backward throw during play.