bilateral
adjective
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Since the prefix bi- means "two" in Latin, bilateral means essentially "two-sided". In the days when there were two superpowers, the U.S. and the Soviet Union regularly engaged in bilateral arms negotiations; such negotiations are much less common today. Sometimes bilateral refers to two sides of the same thing. A bilateral hip replacement, for instance, replaces both hip bones in the same operation. And bilateral symmetry (a term often used by biologists) refers to the fact that, in many organisms (such as humans), the left side is basically the mirror image of the right side.
Examples of bilateral in a Sentence
Harsh V. Pant, Foreign Affairs, 14 Nov. 2024
Now, the typical bilateral tax treaty between two contracting nations is mostly about what?
—Tax Notes Staff, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024
The meeting, which was attended by U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy, is part of a broader bilateral dialogue between the UK and South Africa, aimed at strengthening international cooperation on a variety of issues, including climate action.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Modi and Xi had not held formal bilateral talks since then, although both participated in multilateral events.
—Reuters, NBC News, 24 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Bilateral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bilateral. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
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