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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

When the temperature difference diminishes between the warmer western Pacific and the cooler eastern Pacific, the typical east-to-west trade winds decrease even further.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Businesses in Afghanistan's western city of Herat have suffered from a downturn in female customers opting to stay home following a recent crackdown by morality police on women's attire, according to shopkeepers, drivers and residents.

From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026

Sudan is a particular worry, where the rebel Rapid Support Forces are gaining a stronger foothold in the southern and western portions of the country near the Central African Republic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

“The warm pool of water in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean is expanding farther to the east,” L’Heureux said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

This left parts of the island’s east coast farther from its western edge.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

The FSB's Centre 16 has previously been accused by Western intelligence agencies of using malware for decades to try to gain access to spy on countries around the globe.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

Aren’t there robust forces in the West pushing back against Western self-destructiveness?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Health organizations generally recommend that adults consume about 25 to 30 grams of fiber each day, yet average intake across many Western countries falls below that level.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026

"I think there's a trend right across the Western world for leaders to end up spending much more time on foreign policy than they'd hoped," Lammy said.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

In some older recordings, the singing would be re-recorded by a Western chorus, which took away from the experience of hearing the song.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin