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due east

due east

10 1.9
A direction toward the east at 90 degrees on a compass
  • noun
translation icon : exactamente al este
  • The camp's about a three-day walk due east.
  • miles due east
  • sun rises due east
  • head due east

Examples

Synonyms

east
vsdue east
109 1.0

The direction where the sun rises

is the precise compass bearing at ninety degrees rather than a general point
E
vsdue east
7 1.0

The direction at the right on most maps where the sun rises

is written as the full phrase instead of a single-letter form
eastward
vsdue east
1 1.7

The compass direction that points to the east

is a fixed phrase rather than a general directional term

Antonyms

9 1.2

The direction straight to the west on a compass

How Exact

due east
10 1.9
east
348 1.0
eastward
1 1.0

Surface Forms

due east singular
due easts plural

Morphology

due + east

The meaning 'exactly east' is directly compositional from 'due' (exactly/in a particular direction) + 'east' (the compass point), so a learner who knows both words can derive the phrase. This is a productive and cross-linguistically common pattern (e.g. 'due north', 'justo al este'), making the MWE immediately understandable at B1 level.

Etymology

Due east may come from the old use of due to mean 'straight' or 'direct'. People would use due with east to show a straight line on a map or compass, so it came to mean 'exactly east'.