western

adjective

west·ern | \ ˈwe-stərn

Definition of western

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : coming from the west a western storm

b : situated or lying toward the west islands in the western half of the archipelago

2 or Western : of, relating to, or characteristic of a region conventionally designated West: such as

a : steeped in or stemming from the Greco-Roman traditions Western culture

b : of or relating to the noncommunist countries of Europe and America Western powers

c : of, relating to, or characteristic of the American West Western clothes western music

3 Western : of or relating to the Roman Catholic or Protestant segment of Christianity Western liturgies

western

noun

Definition of western (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : one that is produced in or characteristic of a western region and especially the western U.S.

2 often capitalized : a novel, story, motion picture, or broadcast dealing with life in the western U.S. especially during the latter half of the 19th century

Examples of western in a Sentence

Adjective

the western part of the state Old western movies are my favorites.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

In 1997, Robert Denton led an expedition in the Zuni Basin of western New Mexico and first discovered traces of the dino. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "New Tiny T-Rex Cousin Discovered," 6 May 2019 More than half of Guatemalans live in poverty, and in the western highlands, where the majority of the population is indigenous, 76 percent live below the poverty line. — Lauren Bohn, Marie Claire, "Who Killed Claudia Gomez?," 2 May 2019 In 2018, a Thomson Reuters survey placed the United States as the 10th most dangerous place in the world for women, the only western country on that list. — Tanya Selvaratnam, Glamour, "Why Candice Russell Had No Choice But Take Her Case to the Media," 2 Apr. 2019 The renewable-energy company had built a small power plant that allows Fort Drum in western New York to operate even if the civilian power grid collapses. — Rebecca Smith And Rob Barry, WSJ, "America’s Electric Grid Has a Vulnerable Back Door—and Russia Walked Through It," 10 Jan. 2019 This has allowed forests in the western United States to build up to an unnatural density, which increases the fuel available to burn. — Umair Irfan, Vox, "Ryan Zinke blamed environmentalists for California’s massive wildfires. Again.," 21 Nov. 2018 The United States has 400 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles on alert across the western United States. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Air Force Wants Helicopters to Help Defend Nuclear Missiles," 10 Aug. 2018 Horseback riders sprinted from stop to stop, jumping off to a fresh horse every 10 miles or so, to deliver mail and news across the western United States prior to and at the start of the Civil War. — Benjy Egel, sacbee, "Pony Express-themed "Bizarre Foods" episode takes celebrity chef into Sacramento," 2 July 2018 Especially two western democracies that, up until now, have had similarly high gun ownership. — Zac Fleming, Harper's BAZAAR, "New Zealand Banned Guns After Thoughts and Prayers. Why Can’t America?," 23 Mar. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The route, which bypassed western Europe to pass over the Norwegian Sea, likely spanned more than seven thousand miles. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Russian Strategic Nuclear Bombers Fly to Venezuela for Exercises," 11 Dec. 2018 In fact, the first feature by South African director Michael Matthews and writer Sean Drummond is many westerns. — John Anderson, WSJ, "‘Five Fingers for Marseilles’ Review: South Africa’s Meta-Western," 13 Sep. 2018 In a scene straight out of a Hollywood western, a group of cowboys stepped in to save the day when a bull broke loose Monday and began a rampage in downtown Oklahoma City -- coming dangerously close to a hospital and bus station. — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, "Bull escapes Oklahoma City pen, dies after gallivanting near hospital," 15 Aug. 2018 And traditionally, violence — and especially violence towards women — in westerns is perpetrated by Native Americans. — refinery29.com, "Finally, A Western That's Not About A Dude & His Horse," 26 June 2018 The Disney and Lucasfilm space western is expected to gross $150 million to $180 million during the long Memorial Day weekend, which should be enough loot to pay off Jabba if nothing else. — David Lazarus, latimes.com, "California Inc.: From a galaxy far, far away ... heeere's Han!," 21 May 2018 The appeal of the western has certainly rubbed off on Zhao, who’s now immersed in writing one. — Gary Thompson, Philly.com, "The western rides back from the sunset in 'The Rider,' one of the best films of the year," 19 Apr. 2018 Traditionally in westerns, the indigenous people are just the bad guys. — refinery29.com, "Finally, A Western That's Not About A Dude & His Horse," 26 June 2018 Khali the Killer is a violent crime drama that, based on the actual trailer, seems to draw a lot of influence from westerns and '70s exploitation films. — Samuel Axon, Ars Technica, "Sony tries to upload movie trailer to YouTube, posts entire movie instead," 3 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'western.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.