eastern

[ee-stern]

adjective

1. lying toward or situated in the east.

   the eastern half of the island.

2. directed or proceeding toward the east.

   an eastern route.

3. coming from the east.

   an eastern wind.

4. (often initial capital letter),  of or relating to the East in the U.S..

   an eastern congressman.

5. (initial capital letter),  of or relating to the Eastern Church or to any of the churches comprising it.

6. (usually initial capital letter),  of, relating to, or characteristic of the East; Oriental.

7. (usually initial capital letter),  (formerly) of or relating to the Soviet Union and its allies.

eastern

/ ˈiːstən /

adjective

1. situated in or towards the east

2. facing or moving towards the east

Other Word Forms

• noneastern adjective
• pro-Eastern adjective
• uneastern adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of eastern¹

before 1000; Middle English esterne, Old English ēasterne; akin to Old Norse austroenn, Old High German ōstrōni. See east , -ern

Example Sentences

The administration’s crackdown has transformed the perennially sleepy military zone of the Caribbean and eastern Pacific into a hub of activity.

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Melissa went on the make a second landfall in eastern Cuba still as a major hurricane and brought widespread damage and flooding.

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Four years older than me, he was dispatched to an American boarding school in Kodaikanal, a “hill station” scattered across the crevices of the Palani Hills, the eastern stretch of the Western Ghats mountain range.

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The suspects' activities, which took place this week in Warsaw and the eastern city of Bialystok, included "transmitting photographic documentation of critical infrastructure and key sites for state security."

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When World War II ended, parts of eastern Poland were annexed by the Soviet Union.

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