eastEnglishOxford American Thesauruseast noun (the East) the Orient. ▷antonyms the West.adjective the cathedral's east face | a biting east wind: eastern, easterly, eastwardly, oriental. ▷antonyms west.adverb traffic wishing to go east on the North Circular: to the east, eastward, eastwards, eastwardly. ▷antonyms west.