eastern
Americanadjective
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lying toward or situated in the east.
the eastern half of the island.
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directed or proceeding toward the east.
an eastern route.
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coming from the east.
an eastern wind.
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(often initial capital letter) of or relating to the East in the U.S..
an eastern congressman.
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(initial capital letter) of or relating to the Eastern Church or to any of the churches comprising it.
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(usually initial capital letter) of, relating to, or characteristic of the East; Oriental.
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(usually initial capital letter) (formerly) of or relating to the Soviet Union and its allies.
adjective
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situated in or towards the east
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facing or moving towards the east
Other Word Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Irkutsk is a remote Siberian city home to around 500,000 people in eastern Russia, while Shelekhov is a satellite town to the city's west.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Scientists have traced the origins of donkeys back more than 5,000 years to eastern Africa.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
This is what management are trying to achieve at another site that opened in the 1970s: Weston Favell, on the eastern edge of Northampton.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
The man is Kenya’s first reported death from an Ebola strain that has killed more than 4,000 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in the past five months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Now the Soviets began to prepare to take back the eastern region of Belorussia from German occupation.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
