Western Europe

Cultural

Those nations in Europe that were not part of the Eastern Bloc, or more specifically, those nations allied with the United States in NATO (except Turkey). Neutral or nonaligned nations such as Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, and Spain, though western European in terms of geography, are not usually meant when the term “Western Europe” is used as the opposite for terms such as “Eastern Europe,” “the Eastern Bloc,” or “communist Europe.”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There are five regional hospitals across Greenland, which is home to just 57,000 people but is roughly the size of western Europe.

From Barron's

But Zelensky, with a new team, still commands approval ratings that most leaders in Western Europe can only dream about.

From BBC

When a SpaceX rocket failure set the skies aflame over western Europe last February, no-one was sure if the debris was also polluting our atmosphere.

From BBC

At the same time surges of Arctic air in the USA and Canada helped to fire up a strong Atlantic jet stream that directed rain-bearing areas of low pressure towards western Europe.

From BBC

Four departments are under red alerts for flooding, with the situation expected to get worse as Storm Pedro hits western Europe.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023