1
: situated toward or at the west
the west exit
2
: coming from the west
a west wind
1
a
: the general direction of sunset : the direction to the left of one facing north
b
: the compass point directly opposite to east
2
capitalized
a
: regions or countries lying to the west of a specified or implied point of orientation
b
: the noncommunist countries of Europe and America
3
: the end of a church opposite the chancel
4
often capitalized
a
: the one of four positions at 90-degree intervals that lies to the west or at the left of a diagram
b
: a person (such as a bridge player) occupying this position during a specified activity
Examples of west in a Sentence
Adverb
They drove west after they got off the highway.
They live just west of here.
Adjective
cities on the west coast
Noun
There's a beautiful pond to the west of the trail.
We will be traveling into the city from the west.
If that way is east, then this way is west.
Floods have caused extensive damage in the West.
Come explore the natural wonders of the American West.
policies foreign to the West
Recent Examples on the Web
Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2024
The video shows a white vehicle slamming into the CHP vehicle parked on the right shoulder eastbound I-80, just west of Mace Boulevard.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 23 Apr. 2024
The vast majority of outages from the storms were just west of Rock Hill, where 4,000 customers were without power at 5:45 p.m., the Duke Energy outage map showed.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 20 Apr. 2024
The location is in Carroll Pointe at 1201 Texas 114 East, along North Carroll Avenue west of Southlake Town Square.
—Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Apr. 2024
The mine will sit less than 30 miles east of the Wisconsin, Michigan border, and just west of Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park, one of the few state parks in the country with wilderness status.
—Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2024
Another tornado was observed around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in the city of Raymond, Mississippi, about 20 miles west of Jackson – and more tornadoes could be on the way Wednesday.
—Robert Shackelford, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
After a fire in the Third Ward in 1892, many Irish families moved west to Merrill Park, and by the early 20th century, Merrill Park became Milwaukee's premier Irish neighborhood.
—Ricardo Torres, Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2024
Fort Worth fire crews were dispatched to the complex at 3700 Alice Street — in south Fort Worth just west of Interstate 35W — in response to a call about a fire.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Apr. 2024
Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
The April 8 total solar eclipse is less than two weeks away, and Kentuckians on the west side of the state are in luck.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 26 Mar. 2024
The annual boat race, which involves teams from the historic British universities, has been held since 1829 and draws crowds of hundreds of thousands to the banks of the Thames in west London.
—Billy Stockwell, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Two minors were injured in a drive-by shooting in west Tempe on Thursday evening.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 23 Mar. 2024
Ultimately, the National Park Service will remove about 300 of 3,700 trees that line the banks of the Tidal Basin reservoir between the Thomas Jefferson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorials to shore up sea walls lining the reservoir and the west Potomac River.
—Emily Hung, NBC News, 23 Mar. 2024
Other west coast legends like DJ Quik, Tha Dogg Pound, Jewell, and the Lady of Rage also appear on the 18-track album, with Suge Knight and Dr. Dre serving as producers.
—Ade Adeniji, SPIN, 20 Mar. 2024
The mystery surrounding the enigmatic void on the west pasture of the Abbott family ranch deepens in Season Two, as Royal and his wife Cecelia (Lili Taylor) struggle to keep their family together in the aftermath of their granddaughter’s sudden disappearance.
—Caroline Brew, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024
Breezy, with a west northwest wind at 13-20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 13 Mar. 2024
Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2024
Likewise, the documentary also sheds light on the human cost of fast fashion by looking to the landfills in Ghana, where textile waste from the west is polluting its bodies of water, something that's increased rapidly since fast fashion became the dominant clothing model.
—Cady Lang, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
Clive is about a 10-mile drive west from Des Moines.
—Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
Counties most impacted are west of Louisville and include Hardin, Breckinridge and Ohio.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 10 Apr. 2024
Nevsky is lionized in Russian history as the leader who repulsed several attacks from the west, notably his defeat in 1242 of the Livonian Order that sought to spread Western Catholicism into regions where Eastern Orthodoxy was predominant.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024
Arizona was too far west to be one of the states where a total solar eclipse was visible, but residents could still enjoy witnessing the effects of a partial eclipse Monday morning.
—The Arizona Republic, 8 Apr. 2024
Storms are likely to roll in late this afternoon moving from the west at about 40 mph.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Apr. 2024
Storms to the west are expected to move into the region late Tuesday, and some may make it into western Virginia while still intense.
—Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
Adverb
When he was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays last week, Mitch White packed up his things, headed west and tried to manifest destiny.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 23 Apr. 2024
The video shows a white vehicle slamming into the CHP vehicle parked on the right shoulder eastbound I-80, just west of Mace Boulevard.
—Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 23 Apr. 2024
The vast majority of outages from the storms were just west of Rock Hill, where 4,000 customers were without power at 5:45 p.m., the Duke Energy outage map showed.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 20 Apr. 2024
The location is in Carroll Pointe at 1201 Texas 114 East, along North Carroll Avenue west of Southlake Town Square.
—Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Apr. 2024
The mine will sit less than 30 miles east of the Wisconsin, Michigan border, and just west of Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park, one of the few state parks in the country with wilderness status.
—Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2024
Another tornado was observed around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in the city of Raymond, Mississippi, about 20 miles west of Jackson – and more tornadoes could be on the way Wednesday.
—Robert Shackelford, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
After a fire in the Third Ward in 1892, many Irish families moved west to Merrill Park, and by the early 20th century, Merrill Park became Milwaukee's premier Irish neighborhood.
—Ricardo Torres, Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2024
Fort Worth fire crews were dispatched to the complex at 3700 Alice Street — in south Fort Worth just west of Interstate 35W — in response to a call about a fire.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Apr. 2024
Adjective
There’s Senegal and Mali and other west African countries.
—Connie Ogle, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
The April 8 total solar eclipse is less than two weeks away, and Kentuckians on the west side of the state are in luck.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 26 Mar. 2024
The annual boat race, which involves teams from the historic British universities, has been held since 1829 and draws crowds of hundreds of thousands to the banks of the Thames in west London.
—Billy Stockwell, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Two minors were injured in a drive-by shooting in west Tempe on Thursday evening.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 23 Mar. 2024
Ultimately, the National Park Service will remove about 300 of 3,700 trees that line the banks of the Tidal Basin reservoir between the Thomas Jefferson and Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorials to shore up sea walls lining the reservoir and the west Potomac River.
—Emily Hung, NBC News, 23 Mar. 2024
Other west coast legends like DJ Quik, Tha Dogg Pound, Jewell, and the Lady of Rage also appear on the 18-track album, with Suge Knight and Dr. Dre serving as producers.
—Ade Adeniji, SPIN, 20 Mar. 2024
The mystery surrounding the enigmatic void on the west pasture of the Abbott family ranch deepens in Season Two, as Royal and his wife Cecelia (Lili Taylor) struggle to keep their family together in the aftermath of their granddaughter’s sudden disappearance.
—Caroline Brew, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024
Breezy, with a west northwest wind at 13-20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 13 Mar. 2024
Noun
Winds blow from the west and northwest around 20 to 25 mph, with gusts around 40 mph and higher in elevated areas west.
—Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 13 Apr. 2024
Likewise, the documentary also sheds light on the human cost of fast fashion by looking to the landfills in Ghana, where textile waste from the west is polluting its bodies of water, something that's increased rapidly since fast fashion became the dominant clothing model.
—Cady Lang, TIME, 12 Apr. 2024
Clive is about a 10-mile drive west from Des Moines.
—Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
Counties most impacted are west of Louisville and include Hardin, Breckinridge and Ohio.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 10 Apr. 2024
Nevsky is lionized in Russian history as the leader who repulsed several attacks from the west, notably his defeat in 1242 of the Livonian Order that sought to spread Western Catholicism into regions where Eastern Orthodoxy was predominant.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024
Arizona was too far west to be one of the states where a total solar eclipse was visible, but residents could still enjoy witnessing the effects of a partial eclipse Monday morning.
—The Arizona Republic, 8 Apr. 2024
Storms are likely to roll in late this afternoon moving from the west at about 40 mph.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Apr. 2024
Storms to the west are expected to move into the region late Tuesday, and some may make it into western Virginia while still intense.
—Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'west.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near west
Cite this Entry
“West.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/west. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
west
1 of 3 adverb
: to or toward the west
west
2 of 3 adjective1
: situated toward or at the west
the west entrance
2
: coming from the west
a west wind
west
3 of 3 noun1
: the direction of sunset : the compass point opposite to east
2
capitalized
: regions or countries west of a point that is mentioned or understood
Biographical Definition
West
2 of 4biographical name (2)
Nathanael 1903–1940 originally Nathan Wallenstein Weinstein American novelist
West
3 of 4biographical name (3)
Dame Rebecca 1892–1983 pseudonym of Cicily Isabel Andrews née Fairfield English critic and novelist
West
4 of 4biographical name (4)
Thomas see de la warr
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