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

Example Sentences

As the storm tracked eastward into the western Mediterranean, it drew up warm southerly winds from North Africa, lifting fine Saharan dust high into the atmosphere.

From BBC

The research comes as wolf and cougar territories increasingly overlap across the western United States.

From Science Daily

Joint U.S.-Israeli military operations also took aim at security organizations in western Iran’s Kurdish areas, which are traditional antiregime strongholds.

From The Wall Street Journal

Italy stood out in western Europe when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

From BBC

“Advances in submarines, sensors, seabed systems, and unmanned vehicles will create layered defenses that raise the cost—and in some scenarios the feasibility—of U.S. operations in the western Pacific,” Brookes said.

From The Wall Street Journal