A short pass to a receiver who is upfield from the passer, i.e. is behind the passer relative to the direction of the passer's goal.

To pass the footbal to a receiver who is behind the passer; to make a lateral pass; as, the ball was lateraled to the fullback, who ran it for a touchdown.

A pass that goes backwards – much like a pass in rugby. A team can throw as many lateral passes as it likes on any play, although NFL clubs rarely lateral the football as the play is deemed to risky and possession too valuable. More often used in desperation circumstances to confuse the defense.

As a forward pass, but not thrown in the direction of the opponents' goalpost. Rather, the ball is thrown in any direction other than towards the opponents' goal.

a pass thrown to a teammate backwards from the team's line of scrimmage or parallel to it; unlike a forward pass (which can be thrown only once per play), players may lateral the ball as often as they want.

a pass that goes along or behind the line of scrimmage

A toss or pass backward from the direction of play.

A thrown ball to a player that is either lateral to or behind the ball carrier relative to the yard lines.