westerly

[ wes-ter-lee ]
See synonyms for westerly on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. moving, directed, or situated toward the west: the westerly end of the field.

  2. (especially of a wind) coming from the west: a westerly gale.

adverb
  1. toward the west: to escape westerly.

  2. from the west: a sharp wind blowing westerly.

noun,plural west·er·lies.
  1. a wind that blows from the west: an occasional westerly that pommeled the island.

  2. westerlies, (used with a plural verb) any semipermanent belt of westerly winds, especially those that prevail at latitudes lying between the tropical and polar regions of the earth.

Origin of westerly

1
1570–80; west + -erly, as in easterly

Other words from westerly

  • west·er·li·ness, noun

Words Nearby westerly

Other definitions for Westerly (2 of 2)

Westerly
[ wes-ter-lee ]

noun
  1. a town in SW Rhode Island.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use westerly in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for westerly

westerly

/ (ˈwɛstəlɪ) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, or situated in the west

adverb, adjective
  1. towards or in the direction of the west

  2. (esp of the wind) from the west

nounplural -lies
  1. a wind blowing from the west

Derived forms of westerly

  • westerliness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for westerly

westerly

[ wĕstər-lē ]


  1. A wind, especially a prevailing wind, that blows from the west. The prevailing winds in the middle latitudes are westerlies. See illustration at wind.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for westerly

westerly

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.