westerly

UK: /ˈwɛstə^rli/ US: /ˈwɛstɚli/ ,(wes′tər lē)

Inflections of 'westerly' (n): npl: westerlies

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

west•er•ly /ˈwɛstɚli/   adj., adv. 

1. toward or from the west:
   a westerly wind; The wind turned westerly.

n. [countable] , pl. -lies. 

2. Meteorology a wind that blows from the west.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

west•er•ly  (wes′tər lē), adj., adv., n., pl. -lies. 
adj. 

1. moving, directed, or situated toward the west:
   the westerly end of the field.
2. Meteorology (esp. of a wind) coming from the west:
   a westerly gale.

adv. 

3. toward the west:
   to escape westerly.
4. Meteorology from the west:
   a sharp wind blowing westerly.

n. 

5. Meteorology a wind that blows from the west:
   an occasional westerly that pommeled the island.
6. Meteorology westerlies, (used with a pl. v.) any semipermanent belt of westerly winds, esp. those that prevail at latitudes lying between the tropical and polar regions of the earth.

• west + -erly, as in easterly 1570–80

west′er•li•ness, n. 

Wes•ter•ly  (wes′tər lē), n. 

1. a town in SW Rhode Island. 18,580.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

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

noun ( -lies)

1. a wind blowing from the west

ˈwesterliness noun