Meanings
nounlateral thinking (uncountable)
- uncountableThe use of reasoned thought in a nonstandard, or nonlinear logical way to find a solution to a problem.
Origin
Coined by Edward de Bono in 1967.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 橫向思維 /横向思维, 水平思考
- 橫向思維 /横向思维 (héngxiàng sīwéi)lateral thinking
- 水平思考 (shuǐpíng sīkǎo)lateral thinking
Finnish lateraalinen ajattelu
- lateraalinen ajattelulateral thinking
French pensée latérale
- pensée latéralelateral thinking
German Querdenken
- Querdenkenlateral thinking
Japanese 水平思考
- 水平思考 (suihei shikō)lateral thinking
Polish myślenie latneralne
- myślenie latneralnelateral thinking
Portuguese pensamento lateral
- pensamento laterallateral thinking
Romanian gândire laterală
- gândire lateralălateral thinking
Russian латеральное мышление
- латеральное мышление (lateralʹnoje myšlenije)lateral thinking
Spanish pensamiento lateral
- pensamiento laterallateral thinking
Swedish lateralt tänkande
- lateralt tänkandelateral thinking
Cite this entry
APA
lateral thinking. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lateral%20thinking
MLA
“lateral thinking.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lateral%20thinking. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lateral thinking,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lateral%20thinking.
Source: lateral thinking on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.