east

¹

[eest]

noun

1. a cardinal point of the compass, 90° to the right of north. E

2. the direction in which this point lies.

3. (usually initial capital letter),  a quarter or territory situated in this direction.

4. the East,

   1. the parts of Asia collectively lying east of Europe and including Asia Minor, Syria, Arabia, India, China, etc.

   2. East Asia.

   3. (formerly) the Soviet Union and its allies.

   4. the part of the U.S. east of the Mississippi River.

   5. the part of the U.S. east of the Allegheny Mountains.

   6. New England.

   7. Ancient and Medieval History.,  the Eastern Roman Empire.

adjective

1. directed or proceeding toward the east.

2. coming from the east.

   an east wind.

3. lying toward or situated in the east.

   the east side.

4. Ecclesiastical.,  being at the end of the church where the high altar is.

   an east window.

adverb

1. to, toward, or in the east.

   an island located east of Sumatra; He went east.

East.

²

Or east.

abbreviation

1. eastern.

East

¹

/ iːst /

noun

1. the continent of Asia regarded as culturally distinct from Europe and the West; the Orient

2. the countries under Communist rule and formerly under Communist rule, lying mainly in the E hemisphere Compare West

3. 1. the area north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi

   2. the area north of Maryland and east of the Alleghenies

adjective

1. 1. of or denoting the eastern part of a specified country, area, etc

   2. ( as part of a name )

      East Sussex

east

²

/ iːst /

noun

1. one of the four cardinal points of the compass, 90° clockwise from north and 180° from west

2. the direction along a parallel towards the sunrise, at 90° to north; the direction of the earth's rotation

3. (often capital) any area lying in or towards the east

4. cards (usually capital) the player or position at the table corresponding to east on the compass

adjective

1. situated in, moving towards, or facing the east

2. (esp of the wind) from the east

adverb

1. in, to, or towards the east

2. archaic,  (of the wind) from the east

Other Word Forms

• Eastern adjective
• eastness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of East¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English est, Old English ēast; cognate with German ost, Old Norse austr; akin to Latin aurōra, Greek aúōs (Aeolic dialect variant of ēṓs, héōs ) “dawn”; Easter

Word History and Origins

Origin of East¹

Old English ēast; related to Old High German ōstar to the east, Old Norse austr, Latin aurora dawn, Greek eōs, Sanskrit usās dawn, morning

Example Sentences

While shooting the film at an airport off the east coast of Panama, Herzog, in costume, spotted a man on the other side of a high fence holding a sprig of flowers in his hand.

From Los Angeles Times

Louise McCullough, the chairperson of east Belfast community charity Elevate East, said the housing situation "relates very closely to a lot of the social issues".

From BBC

The abuse in question involved three different foster care households in the north east of Scotland.

From BBC

Rhys has released nine solo studio albums, a film score and an opera, and joined Gorillaz on stage at a gig in east London earlier this month.

From BBC

In the east of the country, Babcock is also confident of securing export orders for Type 31 frigates being built at Rosyth.

From BBC