Jump To:

• western
  western

  adjective

  lying toward or situated in the west.
• Western
  Western

  adjective

  of, relating to, or characteristic of the West as opposed to the Orient

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

---

Explanation

Anything western comes from the west, like a western wind that blows your hair sideways. Western also refers to anything from that half of the world — North America and Europe — as well as old cowboy movies. Although western literally refers to anything in the west, like that wind or a direction on a compass, the Western world refers to the culture of the USA and Europe. The other is Eastern society, which includes Asia. They aren’t as popular now, but kids used to watch Westerns, also known as cowboy movies. If you go to a store that sells Western wear, you might walk out with a ten-gallon hat and red cowboy boots. Yeehaw!

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

western Western

It also has another planned at Sinop on the Black Sea and a third in the western province of Thrace.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

Schools located near the western boundaries of time zones, including those in Forks, Washington, would be particularly affected because sunrise already occurs relatively late in those locations.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026

The movement also seems to be gathering adherents along the central western border, with upcoming votes in Warren, Henderson and McDonough counties.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

The measures were subsequently extended to western Libya.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

For over two decades, Rondon, now forty-eight and the commander of Brazil’s Telegraphic Commission, explored and mapped the “wild, western wilderness of Brazil.”

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple

The Western Trust said its Phone First service was being "assessed against current spend and affordability" as part of its savings plan.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

“Given the impacts of climate change, extreme drought, and intense flood years, this generational project is necessary,” said Ryan Shaw, a manager of Western Municipal Water District.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

This could generate high-quality jobs in India, lessen Western dependence on China, and deepen U.S.-India technology relations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

Thomas, 37, known to his supporters as Danny Tommo, denies the charges linked to the alleged incident at Western Jet Foil in Dover on 31 March.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

More modern Western music, on the other hand, does not sound pleasant using Pythagorean intonation.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---