westerly
1 Americanadjective
-
moving, directed, or situated toward the west.
the westerly end of the field.
-
(especially of a wind) coming from the west.
a westerly gale.
adverb
-
toward the west.
to escape westerly.
-
from the west.
a sharp wind blowing westerly.
noun
plural
westerlies-
a wind that blows from the west.
an occasional westerly that pommeled the island.
-
(used with a plural verb) westerlies, any semipermanent belt of westerly winds, especially those that prevail at latitudes lying between the tropical and polar regions of the earth.
noun
adjective
adverb
-
towards or in the direction of the west
-
(esp of the wind) from the west
noun
-
A wind, especially a prevailing wind, that blows from the west. The prevailing winds in the middle latitudes are westerlies.
-
See illustration at wind
Other Word Forms
- westerliness noun
Etymology
Origin of westerly
1570–80; west + -erly, as in easterly
Vocabulary lists containing westerly
Weather and Climate - Middle School
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Earth Science - Middle School
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Earth Science - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That wind direction has now changed, with a broadly westerly flow from the Atlantic - hence the significantly cooler feel and a return to "normal" spring weather.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
Cool westerly winds are returning to the UK, sweeping away this week's brief burst of spring warmth.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
During strong westerly winds, especially in years with a wet spring and hot, dry fall, swarms of thousands—sometimes hundreds of thousands—roll freely over the prairie landscape, halting only where housing developments stand in their way.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 17, 2025
Strengthening westerly winds are already pushing the deep water closer to the surface.
From Science Daily • Oct. 27, 2025
The effluent glacier seems to run on a long curve westerly up to the Gobrin plateau.
From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
