adjective / adverb · neutral

westward

UK/ˈwestwəd/US/ˈwestwərd/WEST·ward

Band 5-6task2speaking

toward or in the direction of the west

Examples

During the drought many families moved westward in search of water.

A westward wind brought cooler air during the night.

The settlement expanded westward over the next decade.

Band 8 sentence

Archaeological evidence suggests that the population migrated westward over several generations.

Collocations

  • move westward
  • westward expansion

Word family

westward adj/advwestwards adv (BrE variant)

Common mistakes

to westto the west / westward

westwards (in AmE essays)westward

Say it for a higher band

5to the west6west7+westward

Synonyms

to the west

Easily confused

westwards

They headed westwards across the plain as the sun set.

to the west

The city lies to the west of the river.

Related words

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In -ward

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