East BrE AmE noun
1 . the East
a) the countries in Asia, especially China and Japan:
Martial arts originated in the East.
b) the countries in the eastern part of Europe and Central Asia:
American relations with the East.
c) American English the part of the US east of the Mississippi River, especially the states north of Washington DC:
She was born in the East but now lives in Atlanta.
He was born in Utah but went to college back East.
2 . East-West relations/trade etc political relations etc between countries in eastern Europe and those in western Europe and North America
⇨ Far East
, Middle East
, Near East