/ Sign up
English (UK)
Cambridge Dictionary Online

Meaning of west in English

west
noun [ U ]
(also West)
uk
/west/ us
/west/
(written abbreviation W)
Add to word list Add to word list
A2
the direction in which the sun goes down in the evening, opposite to the east, or the part of an area or country that is in this direction:
The points of the compass are north, south, east, and west.
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
Most of the region will be dry tomorrow, but the west will have some rain.
The Black Country is/lies to the west of Birmingham.
(the) West
B2
North America and western Europe:
There has been concern in/throughout the West about the effects of this measure.
East-West relations
In the US, the West is the part of the country west of the Mississippi river that only became developed in the late 1800s:
the Wild West
More examplesFewer examples
out west US
to or in the west of the US:
Travis moved out west after college.
More examplesFewer examples
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Points of the compass
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Grammar

East or eastern; north or northern?
…

Idiom

go west
west
adjective
(also West)
uk
/west/ us
/west/
(written abbreviation W)
A2
in or forming the west part of something:
West Africa
the west coast of the USA
Ireland is west of Britain.
west wind
a wind coming from the west
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Points of the compass
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Grammar

East or eastern; north or northern?
…
west
adverb
(also West)
uk
/west/ us
/west/
(written abbreviation W)
A2
towards the west:
Go due (= directly) west until you see a lake.
The balcony faces west.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
Direction of motion
See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Grammar

East or eastern; north or northern?
…
(Definition of west from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

west | American Dictionary

west
noun [ U ]
us
/west/
(abbreviation W.)
Add to word list Add to word list
the direction where the sun goes down in the evening that is opposite east, or the part of an area or country which is in this direction:
The points of the compass are north, south, east, and west.
The sun sets in the west.
west
adjective, adverb [ not gradable ]
us
/west/
(abbreviation W.)
lying toward, coming from, or being at the west part:
the west coast
The town is west of here.

the West

idiom
the part of the US west of the Mississippi River:
The museum grounds contain an Indian tepee and a large, heavy wagon used by early 19th-century settlers of the West.
the West
North America and the countries in the western part of Europe are also referred to as the West:
The West must make a commitment to Africa to help find solutions to the continent's problems.
(Definition of west from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of west

west
The study area is surrounded by large expanses (>200 km) of mainly continuous forest to the west, north and east.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Soldattorpet on the west coast provides a comparable vertical stratigraphy for the same period.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
As we move from east to west through this area, a change is visible in the landscape.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
There was little natural differentiation on the west coast, and one place was as good as another for the establishment of a trading place.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The east has a longer history of settlement and is more urbanized than the west, which is somewhat of a frontier zone.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
From there they began gradually to move west sometime in the late eighteenth century.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
In the lateral areas to the east and west deformation is accommodated by strike-slip shear zones.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
This work is largely unfamiliar in the west.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The severity of famine gradually increased in the east which slowly proceeded from west through the decades.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Four additional concentrations are lined up in a row along the west side of the platform.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Rivers meander across this lowland from the west to the east.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Despite this, historians continue to attribute the emergence of new forms of governance to a clash of cultures between east and west.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
This local rotation causes water columns to the east and west to move southward and northward, respectively.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Adjacent to active border faults to the east and west, sheet- and debris flow-dominated alluvial boulder conglomerates accumulated.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
As one moves west, however, the natural ground surface decreases in elevation due to natural drainage patterns.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with west

west

These are words often used in combination with west.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

due west
The other subterranean conduit runs parallel to, and approximately 200 m due west of, the one just described.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
west facade
The meaning of the west facade is private and hidden.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
west flank
This work located a vaulted structure buried intact under the west flank of the later massive temple construction.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with west
What is the pronunciation of west?
 

Translations of west

in Chinese (Traditional)
西，西方, 在西方的, 向西方的…
See more
in Chinese (Simplified)
西，西方, 在西方的, 向西方的…
See more
in Spanish
oeste, del oeste, occidental…
See more
in Portuguese
oeste, do oeste, ocidental…
See more
in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in French
in Turkish
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Telugu
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Korean
in Italian
पश्चिम - संध्याकाळी सूर्य मावळतो ती दिशा, पूर्वेची विरुद्ध दिशा, या दिशेला असलेले प्रदेश किंवा देश…
See more
西, 西（にし）, 西（にし）の…
See more
ouest [masculine], ouest, vers l’ouest…
See more
batı, Batı, batıda…
See more
oest…
See more
westen, westelijk, westen-…
See more
சூரியன் மாலையில் கீழே செல்லும் திசை, கிழக்குக்கு எதிரே, அல்லது இந்த திசையில் இருக்கும் ஒரு பகுதி அல்லது நாட்டின் ஒரு பகுதி…
See more
पश्चिम, पश्चिम में, पश्चिम की तरफ…
See more
પશ્ચિમ, પશ્ચિમી, પશ્ચિમ તરફ…
See more
vest, vest-, vestlig del af…
See more
väst, väster, västlig…
See more
barat, di barat, daripada arah barat…
See more
der Westen, westlich, West-……
See more
vest [masculine], vest-, vestover…
See more
مغرب, پچھم, مغربی…
See more
захід, західний, на захід…
See more
సూర్యుడు సాయంత్రం రేపు వెళ్ళేదిక్కు, పడమటి దిక్కు కు వ్యతిరేక దిశ, ఒక ప్రాంతానికి లేదా దేశానికి ఈ దిక్కున ఉన్న ప్రాంతం…
See more
পশ্চিম দিক, কোনো দেশের পশ্চিম প্রান্ত গঠন, পশ্চিম দিকে…
See more
západ, západní, na západ…
See more
barat, Barat, dari barat…
See more
ทิศตะวันตก, ซึ่งอยู่ทางทิศตะวันตก, ซึ่งพัดมาจากทางทิศตะวันตก…
See more
hướng tây, Hướng Tây trên la bàn, phía tây…
See more
zachód, zachodni, na zachód…
See more
서쪽…
See more
ovest, da ovest, a ovest…
See more
Need a translator?

Get a quick, free translation!

Translator tool
 

Browse

weren't
werewolf
werewolves
Wernicke's area
west
West African Economic and Monetary Union
West Dunbartonshire
West Glamorgan
West Highland white terrier

Word of the Day

stubborn

UK
/ˈstʌb.ən/
US
/ˈstʌb.ɚn/

A stubborn person is determined to do what he or she wants and refuses to do anything else.

About this
has been added to list
English (UK)   Change
English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी
Follow us
Choose a dictionary
  • Recent and Recommended
  • Definitions
    Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English
    English Learner’s Dictionary Essential British English Essential American English
  • Grammar and thesaurus
    Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English
    Grammar Thesaurus
  • Pronunciation
    British and American pronunciations with audio
    English Pronunciation
  • Translation
    Click on the arrows to change the translation direction.
    Bilingual Dictionaries
    • English–Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Simplified)–English
    • English–Chinese (Traditional) Chinese (Traditional)–English
    • English–Danish Danish–English
    • English–Dutch Dutch–English
    • English–French French–English
    • English–German German–English
    • English–Indonesian Indonesian–English
    • English–Italian Italian–English
    • English–Japanese Japanese–English
    • English–Norwegian Norwegian–English
    • English–Polish Polish–English
    • English–Portuguese Portuguese–English
    • English–Spanish Spanish–English
    • English–Swedish Swedish–English
    Semi-bilingual Dictionaries
    English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Gujarati English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Urdu English–Vietnamese
  • Dictionary +Plus
    Word Lists
Contents
My word lists

To add west to a word list please sign up or log in.

Sign up or Log in
My word lists

Add west to one of your lists below, or create a new one.

More
Go to your word lists
Tell us about this example sentence: