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

Example Sentences

The material was found in deep-sea cores recovered from Baffin Bay, off Greenland's western coast.

From Science Daily

New research to be presented at AGU's 2025 Annual Meeting in New Orleans reports that nearly 38 million hectares of land in the western United States are historically behind on burning.

From Science Daily

“Mom has definitely got a nice maternal hold and is very protective of the baby,” said Prebble, animal keeper of the zoo’s western lowland gorillas.

From Los Angeles Times

All but one of the 19 lives lost in Altadena were in the western part of the city.

From Los Angeles Times

“I don’t have confidence that they’re going to solve the problems that caused so much trouble for western Altadena,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times