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

That 1948 John Wayne-Montgomery Clift drama, a Shakespearean clash of personalities on an epic cattle drive from Texas to Missouri, was a Hawks masterpiece and the greatest western of the Hollywood Golden Age.

From The Wall Street Journal

Five workers at a western Iranian sugar factory who had been striking for better pay were released late Tuesday, according to the Free Workers’ Union of Iran, the country’s main federation of independent trade unions.

From The Wall Street Journal

She feels investment should be concentrated on technologies such as tidal energy, as proposed by Morlais off the western coast of Anglesey.

From BBC

"This voyage reconnects the past with the present," Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan said, flagging the ship off from Porbandar, in India's western state of Gujarat, on an estimated two-week crossing to the Arabian Peninsula.

From Barron's

Areas of Perthshire and the western Highlands in Scotland, southern parts of Wales, and Yorkshire and Lancashire in England recorded the most seismic activity overall.

From BBC