western

1 of 2

adjective

west·​ern ˈwe-stərn 

1

a

: 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

2 of 2

noun

1

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

2

often Western : a work of literature or film (such as a novel, story, movie, 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

Decades of Western sanctions had already left the country isolated and economically battered before American and Israeli strikes in June 2025 dealt his rule a severe blow. —Abbas Al Lawati, CNN Money, 1 Mar. 2026

Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a broad cooperation pact in January last year as their countries deepened their partnership in the face of stinging Western sanctions. —ABC News, 28 Feb. 2026

Noun

McCarthy moved to his current studio in 2012, and around then, bought land out in the Tehachapi Mountains to serve as Wild West backdrops, not unlike the early film studios buying up tumbleweed stables in Topanga to serve as facsimiles of one-horse towns to shoot westerns. —Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 25 Feb. 2026

His father, John Carradine, was a character actor specializing in horror, westerns, and Shakespeare, with those genres overlapping in some of his roles. —Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 24 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English westerne, from Old English; akin to Old High German westrōni western, Old English west

First Known Use

Adjective

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

Noun

1902, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing western

• country and western
• spaghetti western
• western equine encephalitis
• western equine encephalomyelitis
• western hemisphere
• western omelet
• western rat snake
• western red cedar
• western saddle
• western sandwich
• western swing

Rhymes for western

• northwestern
• southwestern

Kids Definition

western

1 of 2 adjective

west·​ern ˈwes-tərn 

1

capitalized : of, relating to, or resembling that of the West

2

: lying toward or coming from the west

a western storm

western

2 of 2 noun

: a story, film, or radio or television show about life in the western U.S. in the last part of the 19th century