westward

American  

[west-werd] / ˈwɛst wərd /

adjective

1. moving, bearing, facing, or situated toward the west.

   a westward migration of farm workers.

---

adverb

1. Also westwards. toward the west; west.

   a train moving westward.

noun

1. the westward part, direction, or point.

   The wind had veered to the westward.

westward British  

/ ˈwɛstwəd /

adjective

1. moving, facing, or situated in the west

---

adverb

1. Also: westwards.  towards the west

noun

1. the westward part, direction, etc; the west

Other Word Forms

• westwardly
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of westward

before 900; Middle English; Old English westweard. See west, -ward

Example Sentences

According to the report, commanders became aware of the fire’s westward movement just after 2 a.m., and ordered evacuations for much of west Altadena at 3 a.m., with alerts going out at 3:25 a.m.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

Wherever the group paused along their journey westward, they planted one.

From BBC • May 2, 2026

A fourth vessel, the Madagascar-flagged tanker Murlikishan, meanwhile crossed the strait westward into the Gulf on Tuesday morning through the Larak Island route.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

The market is due to see a rolling supply disruption unfolding “sequentially rather than simultaneously” — moving westward, “dictated by shipping times and buffered unevenly by regional inventories.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026

Along this they went westward, with the city ever climbing up like a green cloud upon their left; and as the night deepened more lights sprang forth, until all the hill seemed afire with stars.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien