Western means in or from the west of a region, state, or country.
...hand-made rugs from Western and Central Asia.
...Moi University, in western Kenya.
2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
Western is used to describe things, people, ideas, or ways of life that come from or are associated with the United States, Canada, and the countries of Western, Northern, and Southern Europe.
Mexico had the support of the big western governments.
Those statements have never been reported in the Western media.
3. countable noun
A western is a book or film about life in the west of America in the nineteenth century, especially the lives of cowboys.
western in British English
(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 country and western
Western in British English
(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
4.
a film, book, etc, concerned with life in the western states of the US, esp duringthe era of exploration and early development
western in American English
(ˈwɛstərn)
adjective
1.
in, of, to, toward, or facing the west
2.
from the west
a western wind
3. [W-]
of or characteristic of the West
4. [W-]
of the Western Church
noun
5.
westerner
6. US
a film, book, etc. having a setting in the western U.S., esp. during the 19th-cent. period of development and expansion of the frontier
Word origin
ME < OE westerne
Examples of 'western' in a sentence
western
Does any adult in the western world need a new anything?
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She might agree with him that struggling folks have been overlooked in the politics of the western world.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Right now we are in the rare position of potentially having three senior female citizens running the western world.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Britain's company formation procedure is one of the easiest in the western world.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Across the western world we are faced with a similar conundrum to that facing Asia.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The eastern, southern and western parts of the road hug the coast.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Wednesday saw fog lift into low cloud over the southeast, with some sun over more northern and western parts.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
The group has been vilified by the regime's spokesmen, partly because it is funded by western governments.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Russia's diplomatic aims have been triumphantly served in 2016 by a lack of resolution on the part of western democracies.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Let's not forget a third factor: the generational politics that pits the old against the young all over the western world.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
There is something about western modernity which really does eat away at the soul.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
This was the policy of western governments in the postwar era and it was a success.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is now the poorest country in the western hemisphere.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The showers will be most frequent across northern and western parts.
The Sun (2015)
The following year he was posted to the western front to service and rescue aircraft.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The major causes of death in the western world are the diseases of the arteries.
Holford, Patrick The Family Nutrition Workbook (1988)
The western is about the pretence of being a man.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
This is a regional power struggle in which western governments cannot afford to take sides.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The blast caused a landslide that collapsed the western part of the island.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
How can we think the western world is sincerely our friend?
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
And the concern about imposing western values?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
That is strongly opposed by western governments because of the threat to free speech.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Britain has the toughest libel laws in the western world.
The Sun (2013)
It just sticks together all your favourite bits from westerns and alien films to produce a bit of fun.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
During the early part of this week further spells of rain are likely to spread across western and northern parts.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The incident is the third fatal shark attack off the western coast of Australia in two months.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The bulk of the fighting on the western front was done by the French.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
His rugged build helped him to secure a series of small roles in films, often westerns.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It's one of those books that makes you yearn for the machineguns of the western front.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Waves of up to 2m were expected to hit the western coast of Anglesey.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The western coasts will be battered by 90mph winds as the 31st storm of winter strikes today.
The Sun (2014)
People knew him from watching the western films, but presents weren't given.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
I remember one place in Florida where we wrestled in a country and western bar with a ring set up on the dancefloor.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
In other languages
western
British English: western /ˈwɛstən/ ADJECTIVE
Western means in or from the west of a region or country.
Visitors from western Europe rose one percent last year.
American English: western
Arabic: غَرْبِيّ
Brazilian Portuguese: ocidental
Chinese: 西的
Croatian: zapadni
Czech: západní
Danish: vestlig
Dutch: westers
European Spanish: del oeste
Finnish: läntinen
French: occidental
German: westlich
Greek: δυτικός
Italian: occidentale
Japanese: 西の
Korean: 서쪽의
Norwegian: vestlig
Polish: zachodni
European Portuguese: ocidental
Romanian: occidental
Russian: западный
Latin American Spanish: del oeste
Swedish: västlig
Thai: ซึ่งอยู่ไปทางทิศตะวันตก
Turkish: batı
Ukrainian: західний
Vietnamese: phương tây
British English: western /ˈwɛstən/ NOUN
A western is a film or book about the life of cowboys.
a river in E Europe , rising in W Ukraine and flowing southeast to the Dnieper estuary and the Black Sea. Length : 853 km (530 miles)
north-western
North-western means in or from the north-west of a region or country .
south-western
South-western means in or from the south-west of a region or country.
Western blot
a highly sensitive procedure for identifying and measuring the amount of a specific protein in a mixed extract , as in testing for AIDS virus protein in a blood sample : proteins are separated by gel electrophoresis and transferred to a special filter paper, on which the protein under investigation can be detected by a probe , as the binding of a labeled antibody
Western Cape
a province of W South Africa , created in 1994 from the SW part of Cape Province: agriculture (esp fruit ), wine making, fishing , various industries in Cape Town . Capital: Cape Town. Pop: 5 822 734 (2011 est). Area: 129 370 sq km (49 950 sq miles)
Western Dvina
a river rising in W Russia , in the Valdai Hills and flowing south and southwest then northwest to the Gulf of Riga . Length: 1021 km (634 miles)
western edge
The edge of something is the place or line where it stops , or the part of it that is furthest from the middle .
Western Ghats
a mountain range in W peninsular India , parallel to the Malabar coast of the Arabian Sea. Highest peak : Anai Mudi, 2695 m (8841 ft)
Western Isles
an island authority in W Scotland , consisting of the Outer Hebrides; created in 1975. Administrative centre: Stornoway . Pop: 26 100 (2003 est). Area: 2900 sq km (1120 sq miles)
western larch
a North American larch , Larix occidentalis, having oval cones and found mainly in S British Columbia
Western Ocean
the → Atlantic Ocean
western roll
a technique in high-jumping in which the jumper executes a half-turn of the body to clear the bar
Western Samoa
→ Samoa (sense 2 ) (the country )
western swing
a 1930s jazz-influenced style of country music
Western Wall
a wall in Jerusalem , the last extant part of the Temple of Herod , held sacred by Jews as a place of prayer and pilgrimage
country western
→ country music
Middle Western
of or relating to the Midwest of the US or its inhabitants
Western Church
the part of Christendom that derives its liturgy , discipline , and traditions principally from the patriarchate of Rome , as contrasted with the part that derives these from the other ancient patriarchates, esp that of Constantinople
Western Empire
the westernmost of the two empires created by the division of the later Roman Empire, esp after its final severance from the Eastern Roman Empire (395 ad )
western hemlock
a North American coniferous evergreen tree, Tsuga heterophylla, having hanging branches and oblong cones : family Pinaceae
Western Islands
an island authority in W Scotland , consisting of the Outer Hebrides; created in 1975. Administrative centre: Stornoway . Pop: 26 100 (2003 est). Area: 2900 sq km (1120 sq miles)
Western omelet
an omelette made with diced ham , chopped green pepper , and onion
Western Reserve
section of the Northwest Territory, on Lake Erie : reserved by Conn. for settlers when its other W lands were ceded to the federal government in 1786: incorporated into the Ohio territory in 1800
Western saddle
a heavy saddle of the kind used by cowboys , with a high cantle and pommel and a horn projecting above the pommel
Western Sahara
a disputed region of NW Africa, on the Atlantic : mainly desert ; rich phosphate deposits ; a Spanish overseas province from 1958 to 1975; partitioned in 1976 between Morocco and Mauritania who faced growing resistance from the Polisario Front, an organization aiming for the independence of the region as the Democratic Saharan Arab Republic. Mauritania renounced its claim in 1979 and it was taken over by Morocco. Polisario agreed to a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991 but attempts to settle the status of the region have failed . Pop: 552 628 (2017 est). Area: 266 000 sq km (102 680 sq miles)
western writer
a person who writes westerns
spaghetti western
A spaghetti western is a film made in Europe, usually by an Italian director, about life in the American Wild West.
western alienation
a feeling of resentment by some inhabitants of western Canada against perceived favouritism by the national government towards the eastern provinces
Western Australia
a state of W Australia: mostly an arid undulating plateau , with the Great Sandy Desert , Gibson Desert, and Great Victoria Desert in the interior ; settlement concentrated in the southwest ; rich mineral resources . Capital: Perth . Pop: 2 517 200 (2013 est). Area: 2 527 636 sq km (975 920 sq miles)
western hemisphere
that half of the globe containing the Americas , lying to the west of the Greenwich or another meridian
western meadowlark
a North American yellow-breasted songbird , Sturnella neglecta : family Icteridae (American orioles )
Western Province
a province of W South Africa , created in 1994 from the SW part of Cape Province: agriculture (esp fruit ), wine making, fishing, various industries in Cape Town. Capital: Cape Town. Pop: 5 822 734 (2011 est). Area: 129 370 sq km (49 950 sq miles)
Western Isles pony
a breed of large pony , typically grey , with a dense waterproof coat. The only surviving variety is the Eriskay pony
western red cedar
a large North American arbor vitae , Thuja plicata, found along and near the Pacific coast
country and western
Country and western is the same as country music.
Western Roman Empire
the westernmost of the two empires created by the division of the later Roman Empire, esp after its final severance from the Eastern Roman Empire (395 ad )
bug
A bug is an insect or similar small creature .
Dvina
river in NW Russia , flowing northwest into Dvina Bay near Arkhangelsk: 460 mi (740 km)
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
state of NE Germany: 8,946 sq mi (23,170 sq km); pop. 1,832,000; cap . Schwerin
western diamondback rattlesnake
an extremely venomous diamondback rattlesnake , Crotalus atrox , of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico
ponderosa pine
a large pine , Pinus ponderosa , of western North America, having yellowish-brown bark : the state tree of Montana
the Hebrides
a group of over 500 islands off the W coast of Scotland : separated by the North Minch , Little Minch, and the Sea of the Hebrides: the chief islands are Skye , Raasay, Rum , Eigg, Coll, Tiree, Mull , Jura , Colonsay, and Islay ( Inner Hebrides ), and Lewis with Harris , North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, and Barra ( Outer Hebrides )