west

 
Pronunciation: /wɛst/

noun

(usually the west)
  • 1the direction towards the point of the horizon where the sun sets at the equinoxes, on the left-hand side of a person facing north: the evening sun glowed from the west a patrol aimed to create a diversion to the west of the city
  • the compass point corresponding to west.
  • 2the western part of the world or of a specified country, region, or town: it will become windy in the west
  • (usually the West) Europe and North America seen in contrast to other civilizations: Aboriginal religion is closer to the Orient than the West
  • (the West) historical the non-Communist states of Europe and North America, contrasted with the former Communist states of eastern Europe: Mr Yeltsin was seen by the West as the driving force behind market reforms
  • (usually the West) the western part of the United States, especially the states west of the Mississippi.
  • 3 (West) [as name] Bridge the player sitting to the right of North and partnering East: West butts in with a bid of three spades

adjective

  • 1 [attributive] lying towards, near, or facing the west: the west coast
  • (of a wind) blowing from the west: the formation is caused by the prevalent west winds
  • 2of or denoting the western part of a specified area, city, or country or its inhabitants: West Africa

adverb

  • to or towards the west: he faced west and watched the sunset the accident happened a mile west of Bowes

Phrases

go west

British informal be killed or lost; meet with disaster: £200 million went west in an unprecedented gambling spree

Origin:

Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German west, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek hesperos, Latin vesper 'evening'