word | bilateral |
---|---|
definition | Involving two groups or countries. |
eg_sentence | Instead of working on a set of separate bilateral trade agreements, they propose bringing the countries of the region together to sign a single joint agreement. |
explanation | Since the prefix bi- means “two” in Latin (see BI/BIN), 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. |
IPA | baɪˈlætərəl |
Tags: mwvb::unit:27, mwvb::unit:27:word, mwvb::word, mwvb::word-cloze, mwvb::word-reverse, obsidian_to_anki
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