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• western
  western

  adjective

  lying toward or situated in the west.
• Western
  Western

  adjective

  of, relating to, or characteristic of the West as opposed to the Orient

western

American  

[wes-tern] / ˈwɛs tərn /

adjective

1. lying toward or situated in the west.

   our company's western office.

2. directed or proceeding toward the west.

   a western migration.

3. coming or originating from the west, as a wind.

4. (often initial capital letter) of, pertaining to, living in, or characteristic of the West, especially the western U.S..

   a Western ranch.

5. (usually initial capital letter) Occidental.

   to adopt Western dress.

6. (usually initial capital letter) of or relating to the non-Communist countries of Europe and the Americas.

   Western trade agreements.

7. (initial capital letter) of or relating to the Western Church.

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noun

1. (often initial capital letter) a story, movie, or radio or television play about the U.S. West of the 19th century.

2. western sandwich.

3. a person or thing from a western region or country.

western ¹ British  

/ ˈwɛstən /

adjective

1. situated in or towards or facing the west

2. going or directed to or towards the west

3. (of a wind, etc) coming or originating from the west

4. native to, inhabiting, or growing in the west

5. music See country and western

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Western ² British  

/ ˈwɛstən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the West as opposed to the Orient

2. (formerly) of, relating to, or characteristic of the Americas and the parts of Europe not under Communist rule

3. of, relating to, or characteristic of the western states of the US

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noun

1. a film, book, etc, concerned with life in the western states of the US, esp during the era of exploration and early development

Other Word Forms

• anti-Western
  adjective
• nonwestern
  adjective
• pro-Western
  adjective
• unwestern
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of western

before 1050; 1905–10 western for def. 8; Middle English, Old English westerne, equivalent to west west + -erne -ern

Explanation

Anything western comes from the west, like a western wind that blows your hair sideways. Western also refers to anything from that half of the world — North America and Europe — as well as old cowboy movies. Although western literally refers to anything in the west, like that wind or a direction on a compass, the Western world refers to the culture of the USA and Europe. The other is Eastern society, which includes Asia. They aren’t as popular now, but kids used to watch Westerns, also known as cowboy movies. If you go to a store that sells Western wear, you might walk out with a ten-gallon hat and red cowboy boots. Yeehaw!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

western Western

Showers are expected to return to western parts of the UK on Thursday but these will die out on Friday as they move into eastern areas.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

The Westside and western San Fernando Valley were expected to see minor flooding, according to the weather service, including Malibu, Encino, Woodland Hills and Beverly Hills.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

I arrived at Longshan Temple, in the old part of western Taipei, on a Saturday, unaware that it was the anniversary of the enlightenment of Guanyin, the Buddhist goddess of mercy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

The case is being handled by prosecutors in Silivri on the western outskirts of Istanbul province.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

The day after Klavdiya and Kolya’s shared victory, on June 6, 1944, the Allied nations finally launched their organized attack against the German occupation of western Europe.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Based in Seattle, WaFd has more than 200 branches across Washington, Oregon and other Western states.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

The Scottish government has invested £10m in the pilot, which has been tested in the Highlands, Western and Northern Isles, Moray, and Argyll and Bute for the past year.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

Western Michigan kicker Dieter Kelly scored all 12 of the Broncos’ points as the 27.5-point underdogs nearly upset No. 16 Michigan before losing 13-12 on a Hail Mary touchdown.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

Great Western Railway, external cancelled its services to Reading and no Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express services were running between Paddington and Heathrow on Saturday night.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

By then, the Germans had transferred the best units of their eastern army to the Western Front, where they were preparing for a new offensive against the French and British before the Americans arrived.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman