lateral line

noun

A sense organ of a fish running lengthwise down each of its sides from the vicinity of the operculum to the base of the tail, used to detect movement and vibration in the surrounding water.

Similar
lateral line organ
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounlateral line (plural lateral lines)

plural lateral lines

  1. biologyA sense organ of a fish running lengthwise down each of its sides from the vicinity of the operculum to the base of the tail, used to detect movement and vibration in the surrounding water.
  2. biologyAn equivalent organ found in tadpoles and aquatic salamanders that runs down the head and trunk.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounsense organs of fish and amphibians; believed to detect pressure changes in the water

Similar
lateral line organ
Broader
sense organsensory receptorreceptor

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Catalan línia lateral
  • línia lateralorgan
Chinese Mandarin 側線 /侧线
  • 側線 /侧线 (cèxiàn)organ
Finnish kylkiviiva
  • kylkiviivaorgan
French ligne latérale
  • ligne latéraleorgan
German Laterallinie
  • Laterallinieorgan
Portuguese linha lateral
  • linha lateralorgan
Russian бокова́я ли́ния
  • бокова́я ли́ния (bokovája línija)organ
Tagalog panagilirang guhit
  • panagilirang guhitorgan
Cite this entry
APA

lateral line. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lateral%20line

MLA

“lateral line.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lateral%20line. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lateral line,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lateral%20line.

Source: lateral line on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.