westerly

[ wes-ter-lee ]
/ ˈwɛs tər li /

adjective

moving, directed, or situated toward the west: the westerly end of the field.
(especially of a wind) coming from the west: a westerly gale.

adverb

toward the west: to escape westerly.
from the west: a sharp wind blowing westerly.

noun, plural west·er·lies.

a wind that blows from the west: an occasional westerly that pommeled the island.
westerlies, (used with a plural verb) any semipermanent belt of westerly winds, especially those that prevail at latitudes lying between the tropical and polar regions of the earth.

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Origin of westerly

1570–80; west + -erly, as in easterly

OTHER WORDS FROM westerly

west·er·li·ness, noun

Words nearby westerly

westenra, wester, westergren method, westering, westerlies, westerly, westermarck, western, western alienation, western australia, western blot
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for westerlies

British Dictionary definitions for westerlies (1 of 2)

Westerlies
/ (ˈwɛstəlɪz) /

pl n

meteorol the prevailing winds blowing from the west on the poleward sides of the horse latitudes, often bringing depressions and anticyclones

British Dictionary definitions for westerlies (2 of 2)

westerly
/ (ˈwɛstəlɪ) /

adjective

of, relating to, or situated in the west

adverb, adjective

towards or in the direction of the west
(esp of the wind) from the west

noun plural -lies

a wind blowing from the west

Derived forms of westerly

westerliness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for westerlies

westerly
[ wĕs′tər-lē ]

A wind, especially a prevailing wind, that blows from the west. The prevailing winds in the middle latitudes are westerlies. See illustration at wind.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for westerlies

westerly

See prevailing westerlies.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.