westwards

westwards — adverb

1. in a direction that leads to or is aimed at the west, away from the east

1.adverbB1
Definition

in a direction that leads to or is aimed at the west, away from the east

Example

Christopher drove westwards along the coastal road towards the small fishing village.

movement verb + westwards

The storm was moving westwards and was expected to reach the city by nightfall.

Common collocations
  • travel westwards
  • drive westwards
  • move westwards
  • continue westwards
  • head westwards
  • look westwards
  • extend westwards
  • shift westwards
Synonyms
  • westward

    identical meaning; more common in American English and also used as an adjective

  • westerly

    can mean 'towards the west' but is more often used for winds or general directions, less precise than 'westwards'

Antonyms
  • eastwards

    the opposite direction, towards the east

  • eastward

    the American English equivalent of 'eastwards'

Usage Note

More common in British English; 'westward' is the usual form in American English. Both words are used after verbs of movement or direction.

Common Mistakes

We drove to westwards.
We drove westwards.
'westwards' is a directional adverb and does not need the preposition 'to'.
The train goes to the westwards.
The train goes westwards.
'westwards' already contains the idea of direction; no article or preposition is needed.

Word family

  • west
    nounA1
  • west
    adjectiveA2
  • westward
    adverbB1
  • westward
    adjectiveB1
  • westerly
    adjectiveB2
  • western
    adjectiveA2
  • westernize
    verbC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

All three words indicate a western direction but differ in usage. 'Westward' is the direct synonym of 'westwards' — both mean 'towards the west' — and is more common in American English. 'Westerly' often describes wind direction ('a westerly breeze') or a general tendency rather than a precise movement. 'Westbound' is restricted to vehicles or routes on a specific path ('the westbound train', 'the westbound lane'). Use 'westwards' in British English when describing movement ('the ship sailed westwards'); choose 'westbound' if talking about a scheduled route or lane.

westwardwesterlywestbound

Common collocations

Nouns

  • journey westwards
  • movement westwards
  • route westwards
  • expansion westwards

Adverbs

  • further westwards
  • slowly westwards
  • steadily westwards

Phrases

  • from east to westwards
  • somewhere westwards of here

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed from 'west' (Old English 'west', from Proto-Germanic '*westrą') and the suffix '-wards' (Old English '-weard', meaning 'in the direction of'), which is used to form directional adverbs. The '-wards' form is characteristic of British English spelling, while '-ward' is more common in American English.