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# went west

phrase (idiom, verb phrase, «go west», «went west»)

«went west» in the English dictionary: in the primary school — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## In the primary school

Source: Mova's pupils' dictionary. Licence: [Elamur Cosmic License](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/LICENSE/). Reviewed: the dictionary the pupils of Mova's primary school read; its examples quote the lessons and public-domain tales. Ships with Mova.

### Meaning

1. (euphemism, old-fashioned, UK) died.
2. (informal) was lost, broken or destroyed: «My phone went west.»
3. (literal) travelled towards the west.

### In the lessons

An old British phrase, made popular by soldiers in the First World War, for death; used in old books and jokingly for broken things. The literal direction sense is everyday, and in US history «go west» was about settlers moving west.

### Examples

- (old book) Many good men went west in that battle.
- (joke) My last pair of headphones went west in the washing machine.
- (chat) my phone went west, sorry for not replying
- (literal) The geese went west across the sky.
- (history) Settlers went west in covered wagons.
- (maths) The car went west for 30 km, then north for 40 km; it ended 50 km from the start.

### Note

Trap: usually literal — a direction. «Went west» = died or broke only in old or jokey talk. On a map, west is on the left. In maths, west and east are opposite.