east

1 of 3

adverb

ˈēst 

: to, toward, or in the east

east

2 of 3

adjective

1

: situated toward or at the east

an east window

2

: coming from the east

an east wind

east

3 of 3

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

Adjective

the east side of town

Noun

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

Adverb

From there, the bus serves Evanston Township High School and heads east on Emerson Street and south on Maple Avenue from Evanston's West Side to downtown Evanston. —Adam Harrington, CBS News, 21 Dec. 2025

Parks Bar Road is a half-mile access road to a quarry along the Yuba River, 15 miles east of Marysville. —Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 19 Dec. 2025

Adjective

The combination of howling winds and low humidity is expected to increase wildfire risk across east-central and southeastern Kansas, as well as central and southwestern Missouri. —Kansas City Star, 17 Dec. 2025

Students from Shortridge High School on the city's north side and KIPP Legacy High School, a charter school on the city's east side, told IndyStar their thoughts on the proposals. —Caroline Beck, IndyStar, 17 Dec. 2025

Noun

Surveillance footage showed a silver sedan traveling east on Independence Avenue before stopping at a sandwich shop, according to the probable cause statement. —Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 23 Dec. 2025

An evacuation warning zone was later added east and west of the initial evacuation zone near Sugarloaf Mountain and Bald Mountain. —Austen Erblat, CBS News, 23 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adverb

Middle English est, from Old English ēast; akin to Old High German ōstar to the east, Latin aurora dawn, Greek ēōs, heōs

First Known Use

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

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