east

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The cardinal point on the mariner's compass 90° clockwise from due north and directly opposite west.
• noun The direction of the earth's axial rotation.
• noun An area or region lying in the east.
• noun The eastern part of the earth, especially eastern Asia.
• noun The eastern part of a region or country.
• noun The region of the United States east of the Allegheny Mountains and north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
• noun The former Communist bloc of countries in Asia and especially in Eastern Europe.
• adjective To, toward, of, facing, or in the east.
• adjective Originating in or coming from the east.
• adverb In, from, or toward the east.

from The Century Dictionary.

• In an easterly direction; eastward: as, he went east.
• Eccles., toward the point conventionally regarded as the east; in the direction of or beyond the altar as seen from the nave: as, the chapel east of the choir is commonly called the Lady Chapel.
• To move toward the east; turn or veer toward the east.
• noun One of the four cardinal points of the compass, opposite to the west, and lying on the right hand when one faces the north; the point in the heavens where the sun is seen to rise at the equinox, or the corresponding point on the earth.
• noun The quarter or direction toward the mean point of sunrise; an eastward situation or trend; the eastern part or side: as, a town or country in the east of Europe, or on the east of a range of mountains; to travel to the east (that is, in an eastern direction).
• noun A territory or region situated eastward of the person speaking, or of the people using the term.
• noun In the Bible, the countries southeast, east, and northeast of Palestine, as Moab, Ammon, Arabia Deserta, Armenia, Assyria, Babylon, Parthia. The countries designated by the term in particular passages must be discovered from the context.
• noun [capitalized] In the United States, in a restricted sense, New England; in a more general sense, the whole eastern or Atlantic portion of the country, as distinguished from the West.
• noun [capitalized] In church hist., the church in the Eastern Empire and countries adjacent, especially those on the east, as “the West” is the church in the Western Empire: as, the great schism between East and West.
• noun The east wind.
• Situated in the direction of the rising sun, or toward the point where the sun rises when in the equinoctial: as, the east side; an east window.
• Coming from the direction of the east: only in the phrase the or an east wind.
• Eccles., situated beyond or in the direction of the altar or high altar of a church as seen from the nave: as, the east end of the choirstalls.
• Abbreviated E.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• adjective Toward the rising sun; or toward the point where the sun rises when in the equinoctial
• adjective (Eccl.) Designating, or situated in, that part of a church which contains the choir or chancel.
• intransitive verb To move toward the east; to veer from the north or south toward the east; to orientate.
• noun The point in the heavens where the sun is seen to rise at the equinox, or the corresponding point on the earth; that one of the four cardinal points of the compass which is in a direction at right angles to that of north and south, and which is toward the right hand of one who faces the north; the point directly opposite to the west.
• noun The eastern parts of the earth; the regions or countries which lie east of Europe; the orient. In this indefinite sense, the word is applied to Asia Minor, Syria, Chaldea, Persia, India, China, etc.
• noun (U. S. Hist. and Geog.) Formerly, the part of the United States east of the Alleghany Mountains, esp. the Eastern, or New England, States; now, commonly, the whole region east of the Mississippi River, esp. that which is north of Maryland and the Ohio River; -- usually with the definite article.
• noun according to the notation of the mariner's compass, that point which lies 111/4° to the north or south, respectively, of the point due east.
• noun that which lies 221/2° to the north or south of east, or half way between east and northeast or southeast, respectively. See Illust. of Compass.
• adverb Eastward.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun One of the four principal compass points, specifically 90°, conventionally directed to the right on maps; the direction of the rising sun at an equinox.
• adjective Situated or lying in or towards the east; eastward.
• adjective meteorology wind from the east
• adjective Of or pertaining to the east; eastern.
• adjective From the East; oriental.
• adverb towards the east; eastwards

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• adverb to, toward, or in the east
• noun the countries of Asia
• noun the region of the United States lying to the north of the Ohio River and to the east of the Mississippi River
• adjective situated in or facing or moving toward the east
• noun the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
• noun a location in the eastern part of a country, region, or city