Western Hemisphere

[wes-tern hem-i-sfeer]

noun

1. the western part of the terrestrial globe, roughly extending from the prime meridian west to the antimeridian: sometimes considered synonymous with the New World because the Americas are its primary composition, the Western Hemisphere technically extends into western Eurasia and Africa, easternmost Siberia, and part of Antarctica as well.

western hemisphere

noun

1. that half of the globe containing the Americas, lying to the west of the Greenwich or another meridian

2. the lands contained in this, esp the Americas

Western Hemisphere

1. The half of the Earth that includes North America, Central America, and South America, as divided roughly by the 0° and 180° meridians.

2. See more at prime meridian

Word History and Origins

Origin of Western Hemisphere¹

First recorded in 1640–50

Example Sentences

Instead, he pursued reciprocal trade agreements with countries, especially in the Western Hemisphere, that had a comparative advantage in producing particular goods.

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In 2024, House Republicans voted to censure Higgins for offensive remarks he made on social media after he called Haiti "the nastiest country in the western hemisphere" and referred to Haitians as "eating pets" and "slapstick gangsters".

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According to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, the aim of "Operation Southern Spear" is to remove "narcoterrorists" from the Western Hemisphere.

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At the time, Caputo wanted greater leeway in the use of IMF money “to confront the will of the market with all guns blazing,” said Alejandro Werner, who served as the IMF’s Western Hemisphere chief, in “Argentina en el Fondo,” a book he wrote with Argentine journalist Martín Kanenguiser.

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For decades, U.S. antidrug operations have relied on over 20 allies for everything from detection to interdiction to cover a vast area of the Western Hemisphere used by traffickers and cartels to distribute illegal drugs.

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