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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

Etymology

Origin of western

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

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

Patterson watched this week's proceedings at Melbourne's Supreme Court via a live video link from her maximum-security prison, the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne's western suburbs.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

The water gauge at the Rhine bottleneck of Kaub, near Koblenz in western Germany, notched a record low in recent days, meaning ships must carry fewer goods to pass through.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

The nearly two-mile-long road runs straight north and south along the western edge of the Spring Valley Lake community with few protected intersections.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Potential human remains, including a jaw with teeth still attached, have been recovered from the largest reservoir in the US, officials said, as an ongoing drought causes water levels to drop across western states.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

The 586th, whose Yak fighters were stationed in western Ukraine until September 1944, had a creepy and sobering experience between defensive flights during the hot summer.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Joseph Paintsil scored the only goal of the match, giving the Galaxy a 1-0 win that allowed them to earn three points in the Western Conference and climb to 10th place in the standings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Western Europe experienced its hottest start to summer ever recorded in 2026, with the June–July period reaching record levels, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

The Mercedes-Benz trucks segment faces increased competition in 2027, while structural factors weigh on profitability, including greater exposure to lower-margin Western European markets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Headlines about the visitors began on their arrival at Perth airport and, during their stay in Western Australia, they were followed to golf courses and even on a trip to an aquarium.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

By the end of 1914, after less than five months of combat, more than 600,000 soldiers on both sides had been killed on the Western Front.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman