eastward

east·ward
E1A1S1T1W4A1R1D2
US/ˈist.wɚd/UK/ˈiːst.wəd/

noun

The direction or area lying to the east.

Less commonScrabble 12

Meanings

nouneastward (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe direction or area lying to the east.
adjectiveeastward (comparative more eastward, superlative most eastward)

comparative more eastward · superlative most eastward

  1. Situated or directed towards the east.

    At that point the cuesta is 10 miles wide but the hilltops have an eastward descent of only about 62 feet. In its general eastward slope the surface of the cuesta is exactly that of one made by weathering and stream erosion, acting upon a gently-dipping limestone bed in a region never glaciated.

    1965, Lawrence Martin, The Physical Geography of Wisconsin, Univ of Wisconsin Press, →ISBN, page 217
adverbeastward (comparative more eastward, superlative most eastward)

comparative more eastward · superlative most eastward

  1. Towards the east.
    2 more examples

    Near to the jail, and by consequence near to Smithfield also, and the Compter, and the bustle and noise of the city; and just on that particular part of Snow Hill where omnibus horses going eastward seriously think of falling down on purpose, and where horses in hackney cabriolets going westward not unfrequently fall by accident, is the coach-yard of the Saracen's Head Inn;

    1838 March – 1839 October, Charles Dickens, chapter 4, in The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1839, →OCLC

    As the engine took water, there was time to think of the curious turn of events that brought the North British (in the thin disguise of "Border Counties Railway") over the border, down the North Tyne to Hexham, and eastward from Reedsmouth by the Wansbeck Valley line to Morpeth (and Rothbury), though some of the emptiest parts of one of the emptiest counties of England.

    1956 December, Michael Robbins, “End of the Border Counties Line”, in Railway Magazine, page 808

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivemoving toward the east

nounthe cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees

Similar
eastdue eastE
Broader
cardinal compass point

adverbtoward the east

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishēastweard
  2. Middle Englishestward
  3. Englisheastward

From Middle English estward, from Old English ēastweard, ēasteweard; equivalent to east + -ward.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch oostwaarts
  • oostwaartstowards the east
Esperanto orienten
  • oriententowards the east
German ostwärts
  • ostwärtstowards the east
Hungarian keletre, kelet felé
  • keletretowards the east
  • kelet felétowards the east
Latvian uz austrumiem
  • uz austrumiemtowards the east
Māori whakatemarangai
  • whakatemarangaitowards the east
Polish na wschód
  • na wschódtowards the east
Russian к восто́ку, на восто́к
  • к восто́ку (k vostóku)towards the east
  • на восто́к (na vostók)towards the east
Swedish östvart, ostvart
  • östvarttowards the east
  • ostvarttowards the east
Ukrainian на схід
  • на схід (na sxid)towards the east

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

“eastward.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eastward. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “eastward,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/eastward.

Source: eastward on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.