Far East

American  

noun

1. Older Use. the countries of East Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, and sometimes adjacent areas.

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Far East British  

noun

1. the countries of E Asia, usually including China, Japan, North and South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines: sometimes extended to include all territories east of Afghanistan

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Far East Cultural  

1. Popular expression for the east Asian nations of China, Japan, North Korea and South Korea, Mongolia, and Taiwan.

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Other Word Forms

• Far Eastern adjective

Etymology

Origin of Far East

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Example Sentences

"War surcharges have caused rates from the Far East to the Middle East Gulf and Red Sea to spike by nearly 200 percent" from February 20 to March 20, it said in a report.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

Maersk said Friday that it suspended shipping routes connecting the Middle East with Europe and the Far East as well as its Gulf shuttle services.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

“If any crime has been committed in this war, it is men like me—the leaders—who are guilty,” he said at the conclusion of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in 1948.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

In contrast, Aphaneramma fossils have been discovered in rocks of similar age in Svalbard in the Scandinavian Arctic, the Russian Far East, Pakistan, and Madagascar.

From Science Daily • Feb. 25, 2026

I listened with care to the trouble in Europe, the trouble in the Far East, the trouble in the south, and the trouble in America.

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George