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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

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Etymology

Origin of western

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

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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

Evidence from Chufín Cave in northern Spain suggests that ancestry associated with western European populations persisted in southwestern Europe over an extended period.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2026

In the western city of Cologne, where one of the biggest demonstrations took place, police fired water cannon to disperse a crowd after saying protesters had targeted officers with fireworks.

From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026

He later won election as governor of Michoacán, his father’s native state in western Mexico, where he had spent much of his childhood and youth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

A year later, she made her film debut, albeit uncredited, in the western epic “Giant” while she was in Texas visiting her family.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

His western suits, the Brilliantine in his hair, his buying the shop and letting me learn from Mr. Lew had all given me that impression.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

The sector faces rising production costs, energy shortages, international competition and heavy dependence on Western retailers.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

In January, Silvey was arrested after police raided his home in Western Australia and seized several electronic devices.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

“These benefits are disproportionately concentrated in the Northeastern and Western regions of the U.S., particularly among workers in large, high-income cities.”

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 1, 2026

If you are headed out for Halloween on Saturday evening it should remain largely dry but a few spells of rain could put a dampener on things in the Western Isles of Scotland.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

Any standard music theory book or course will introduce the basics of Western music.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

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