Western Europe

Cultural  

1. Those nations in Europe that were not part of the Eastern Bloc, or more specifically, those nations allied with the United States in NATO (except Turkey). Neutral or nonaligned nations such as Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, and Spain, though western European in terms of geography, are not usually meant when the term “Western Europe” is used as the opposite for terms such as “Eastern Europe,” “the Eastern Bloc,” or “communist Europe.”

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Example Sentences

The heatwave moving from Western Europe was set to bring very high temperatures to the Balkans. forecasters said.

From Barron's • Jun. 27, 2026

Average male life expectancy in Russia today is about 68 years, according to official statistics, compared with roughly 76 in the U.S. and over 80 across much of Western Europe.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, which represents supermarkets says the UK was "one of the most affordable places in Western Europe for grocery shopping".

From BBC • May 24, 2026

It’s a large, highly fragmented industry with 20,000 distributors between here and Western Europe, which gives you room to consolidate and scale.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

A major invasion of Western Europe was still a year away.

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin