back east

adverb

In the eastern part of a country or region.

“my relatives back east”

Opposite
out west
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Meanings

adverbback east (not comparable)
  1. not comparableIn the eastern part of a country or region.

    my relatives back east

    Antonyms: out west

    1. not comparableoftenIn the eastern part of the United States: in the East.

      Antonyms: out west

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbIn the eastern part of a country or region.

Opposite
out west

adverbIn the eastern part of the United States: in the East.

Opposite
out west

Origin

In American English, the idiomatic establishment of back east and out west, rather than out east and back west, implicitly reflects the history of European settlement of the interior of North America in the 18th and 19th centuries, which involved a prevailing east-to-west gradient.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

back east. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/back%20east

MLA

“back east.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/back%20east. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “back east,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/back%20east.

Source: back east on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.