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 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

Meanwhile, most western European leaders are deeply anxious. —New York Times, 3 Nov. 2024

Illustrations by James Kerr / Scorpion Dagger November 2, 2024 At the end of October, a trim and smiling Joe Biden, no longer the Democratic candidate but still the President, delivered some pizzas to a few dozen phone-bankers at a union hall in western Pennsylvania. —The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2024

Noun

Lunch breaks lingered, fires at camp (normally a rare, if ever, event on a long trail) and our nightly group read-alouds of Louie L’Amour westerns went until midnight. —Jac Mitchell, Outdoor Life, 19 Sep. 2024

The beloved supernatural western about a gun-slinging hereditary demon hunter and her ragtag family, which originally ran for four seasons on Syfy, is back again, this time as a 90-minute special on Tubi. —Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2024

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

1612, 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

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