easterly

1 of 2

adjective or adverb

east·​er·​ly ˈē-stər-lē How to pronounce easterly (audio)
1
: situated toward or belonging to the east
the easterly shore of the lake
2
: coming from the east
an easterly storm

easterly

2 of 2

noun

plural easterlies
: a wind from the east

Examples of easterly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective or adverb
Waipara, however, is protected from the cold easterly winds. Per and Britt Karlsson, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 At the time of the fires, strong easterly trade winds had been whipped up by Hurricane Dora, which was 400 miles south of Maui but powerful enough to cause weather that affected the island. Phil Helsel, NBC News, 27 Jan. 2024 The team also identified two east-west tunnels, varying in depth from 16 to 26 feet, entering the cavity from an easterly direction. Franz Lidz Meghan Dhaliwal, New York Times, 23 Dec. 2023 For two days, National Weather Service employees in Honolulu had been sending out ominous alerts about powerful easterly gusts, whipped up by Hurricane Dora passing 500 miles to the south. Joshua Partlow, John Farrell, Brady Dennis, Brianna Sacks and Joanna Slater, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Aug. 2023 Winds will turn to come from the south after starting at an easterly direction early in the day. Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2023 In addition to the heavy rain risk, strong onshore easterly winds gusting up to 40 mph could exacerbate the flood threat. Kathryn Prociv, NBC News, 15 Nov. 2023 Santa Anas are easterly winds that develop due to high pressure over the Great Basin area in Utah and Nevada and pass into Southern California. Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2023 The precise cause of the wildfires is not yet known, emergency officials said Wednesday, but they were exacerbated in part by strong easterly trade winds whipped up by Hurricane Dora, which has been churning over the central Pacific Ocean. Denise Chow, NBC News, 10 Aug. 2023
Noun
Positive values show winds from the west, whereas negative values indicate easterlies. Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024 There are three jet streams that are thought to affect the Indian summer monsoon – the subtropical westerly, the tropical easterly, and the Somali or cross-equatorial jet stream. Anusha Krishnan, Quartz, 30 May 2022 Due to this, the second event occurs – a seasonal jet stream, the tropical easterly, is set up. Anusha Krishnan, Quartz, 30 May 2022 But their move from the southern hemisphere to the northern, and the constraining effect of high pressure over Africa, sees them twisted from south-easterlies to south-westerlies. The Economist, 27 June 2019 Pulled toward the Americas by tropical easterlies, the fine particles from Africa often reach areas as far away as Texas and the Amazon River. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 16 Oct. 2017 An unusual easterly wind gusting up to 21 mph on Friday will drop temperatures to around 67 degrees. Kirk Mitchell, The Denver Post, 15 Mar. 2017 Tropical Wave: A trough or cyclonic curvature maximum in the trade-wind easterlies. Carlie Kollath Wells, NOLA.com, 19 June 2017 Tropical Wave: A trough or cyclonic curvature maximum in the trade-wind easterlies. Carlie Kollath Wells, NOLA.com, 19 June 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'easterly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective or adverb

obsolete easter eastern

First Known Use

Adjective Or Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1837, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of easterly was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near easterly

Cite this Entry

“Easterly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/easterly. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

easterly

adverb or adjective
east·​er·​ly
ˈē-stər-lē
1
: toward the east
they sailed easterly
2
: from the east
an easterly storm

More from Merriam-Webster on easterly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!