westward

American  

[west-werd] / ˈwɛst wərd /

adjective

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

   a westward migration of farm workers.

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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

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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

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

France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates in recent months as part of a push to scale its operations westward, which it started five years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Sea otters, now classified as an endangered species, once thrived along the Pacific Coast before the fur trade during westward colonial expansion drastically reduced their numbers.

From Science Daily • Jan. 30, 2026

After its takeover of the North Darfur capital of El-Fasher in October, the RSF has pushed westward in recent days, through enclaves inhabited by the Zaghawa ethnic group and controlled by an army-allied militia.

From Barron's • Dec. 28, 2025

It sounds harmless enough, and even more so when you realize that the Pacific Plate creeps westward at only about three and a half inches per year.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland