western
west·ern/ˈwɛstɚn/adjective, noun
western is spelled W-E-S-T-E-R-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables (west·ern). It appears 102 times per million words in written English, the 1,048th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, western means “Of, facing, situated in, or related to the west” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in western?
| Letters | 7: W-E-S-T-E-R-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: west·ern |
| In writing | 102 times per million words; the 1,048th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is western?
Western appears 102 times per million words in written English, the 1,048th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce western?
- US /ˈwɛstɚn/
- UK /ˈwɛstən/
Western has 2 syllables, split west·ern in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-western.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of western
- more western comparative
- most western superlative
- westernmost superlative
- westerns plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does western mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, facing, situated in, or related to the west.
the western approaches
- 2
Of a wind, blowing from the west; westerly.
- 3
Occidental.
noun
- 1
A film, or some other dramatic work, set in, the historic (c. 1850–1910) American West (west of the Mississippi river) focusing on conflict between whites and Indians, lawmen and outlaws, ranchers and farmers, or industry (railroads, mining) and agriculture.
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to the cultures and traditions of the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand (the West).
- 2
Of or pertaining to the Western Bloc.
- 3
Of or pertaining to the western United States (the West).
He was not the first Northeastern banker to be surprised by what he saw when he stepped off the train into this Western city.
- 4
Originating from Europe.
noun
- 1
datedAn inhabitant of a western region or country.
- 2
A certain genre of fiction (in literature, film, or gaming) dealing with the American Old West; a work in this genre.
If I'm going to watch a Western, it needs to be a good one. I had my fill of the bad ones long ago.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate western?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of western: Wn, w..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Western in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | occidental , western |
| German | westlich, West- , Western |
| Portuguese | ocidental , faroeste, bangue-bangue |
| Spanish | occidental, oesteño , western |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does western come from?
From Middle English westerne, from Old English westerne, from Proto-Germanic *westrōnijaz. By surface analysis, west + -ern.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).