eastern

American  

[ee-stern] / ˈi stərn /

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.

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eastern British  

/ ˈiːstən /

adjective

1. situated in or towards the east

2. facing or moving towards the east

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Other Word Forms

• noneastern adjective
• pro-Eastern adjective
• uneastern adjective

Etymology

Origin of eastern

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

Example Sentences

Living in the eastern United States between 83 million and 76 million years ago, Deinosuchus schwimmeri was a school-bus-sized relative of modern alligators that preyed on dinosaurs.

From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026

The roughly 1,000-mile-long pipeline began operations in 1950, connecting oilfields of eastern Saudi Arabia to the port of Sidon in Lebanon, on the Mediterranean Sea.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

She was a retired former post office worker living in one of the poorest districts in the country near Hungary’s eastern border with Romania.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

Sunny spells will continue through the day for northern and eastern parts of Scotland and England, but cloud and patchy rain will spill in across western England, Wales and eventually south-west Scotland.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

This was one of the main shipping routes between the eastern and western Mediterranean, and it was also an extremely dangerous body of water, filled with shoals, sandbars, and suddenly shifting currents.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler