western

[ wes-tern ]

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.

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

/ 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. See country and western
   music See country and western

Western

²

/ 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

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 Words From

• anti-Western adjective
• non·western adjective noun
• pro-Western adjective
• un·western adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of western¹

before 1050; 1905–10 western fordef 8; Middle English, Old English westerne, equivalent to west west + -erne -ern

Example Sentences

Last year, a study found an average of 132 small pieces of plastic literally rained down onto each square meter of public lands in the western United States every year.

From Popular-Science

The snow has let up quite a bit in our far western suburbs, and will continue to do so from west to east during the next hour or so, possibly mixing with or changing to rain as it does.

From Washington Post

A trip to Provence and the Riviera might start at the western end of that stretch, in the Roman city of Arles, where Van Gogh first lived after leaving Paris.

From Washington Post

Bill postponed the western swing album and released “Acoustic,” a collection of 20 acoustic songs by Eva.

From Washington Post

“Every day we have new rules, new guidelines, and it’s a struggle,” said Shelly Dunham, CEO of Okeene Municipal Hospital in western Oklahoma.

From ProPublica

Their friendship began when Krauss, who was chairman of the physics department at Case Western in Cleveland, sought out Epstein.

From The Daily Beast

In their past calls for attacks on Western targets, AQAP has focused on putting bombs on planes, not revenge attacks.

From The Daily Beast

This time it would be the biggest mistake for the Western press to repeat that—absolutely the biggest mistake.

From The Daily Beast

“You are applying Western metrics to someone who is not using that metric against you,” referring to ISIS, Bolger said.

From The Daily Beast

Although he brings a Western spin to things, he seems equally inspired by the local sense of style.

From The Daily Beast

But this alliance is rotten, and cannot endure; the Western men are no partizans of slavery.

From Project Gutenberg

The scene and field of that learning hitherto has been, in our Western communities, the University.

From Project Gutenberg

I started for it once, but never even reached the western boundaries of New York.

From Project Gutenberg

We were once more at the western door; Madame crossed herself again; we went out.

From Project Gutenberg

In our western communities the dangers to the intellectual nexus lie rather on the other side.

From Project Gutenberg