east

noun

1

a

: the general direction of sunrise : the direction toward the right of one facing north

b

: the compass point directly opposite to west

2

East

a

: regions lying to the east of a specified or implied point of orientation

b

: regions having a culture derived from ancient non-European especially Asian areas

3

: the altar end of a church

4

often East

a

: the one of four positions at 90-degree intervals that lies to the east or at the right of a diagram

b

: a person (such as a bridge player) occupying this position in the course of a specified activity

Examples of east in a Sentence

The city is framed by mountain ranges to the east and west.

The wind blew from the east.

This summer has been unusually hot in the East.

Recent Examples on the Web

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), critics question whether Washington’s diplomatic efforts to end decades of conflict in the mineral-rich east are driven by genuine security concerns. —Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 8 June 2026

The Storm Prediction Center, part of the National Weather Service, has placed the Kansas City metro under a slight risk (Level 2 of 5) for severe storms Monday, with a marginal risk (Level 1 of 5) east and southeast of the metro. —Kansas City Star, 8 June 2026

The hatched area in the map below may see tennis to baseball size hail from east of DIA and Aurora out to Kansas and Nebraska. —Dave Aguilera, CBS News, 8 June 2026

The only populated area that remained under evacuation order was a neighborhood east of Ocean Air Drive and south of Carmel Mountain Road in Carmel Valley. —Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing east

• back east
• down east
• east by north
• east by south
• east-northeast
• east-southeast
• north by east
• northeast by east
• south by east
• southeast by east
• the east

Rhymes for east

• beast
• ceased
• creased
• feast
• fleeced
• geest
• greased
• leased
• least
• pieced
• priest
• yeast

Kids Definition

east

1 of 3 adverb

ˈēst 

: to or toward the east

east

2 of 3 adjective

1

: located toward or at the east

the east door of the school

2

: coming from the east

an east wind

east

3 of 3 noun

1

a

: the general direction of sunrise

b

: the compass point directly opposite to west

2

capitalized : regions or countries east of a specific place