Lateral may refer to:

• Lateral, an anatomical direction - see Human anatomical terms
• Lateral pass, type of pass in American and Canadian football
• Lateral thinking, thinking concerned with changing concepts and perception
• Lateral consonants, "L"-like consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue
• Lateral mark, a sea mark used in maritime pilotage to indicate the edge of a channel
• Lateral support, a type of physical support to help prevent sideways movement