- Orient The countries of Asia, especially of eastern Asia.
- The luster characteristic of a pearl of high quality.
- A pearl having exceptional luster.
- Archaic. The place on the horizon where the sun rises; the east.
- Having exceptional luster: orient gemstones.
- Archaic. Eastern; oriental.
- Archaic. Rising in the sky; ascending.
v., -ent·ed, -ent·ing, -ents. (ôr'ē-ĕnt', ōr'-) v.tr.
- To locate or place in a particular relation to the points of the compass: orient the swimming pool north and south.
- To locate or position so as to face the east.
- To build (a church) with the nave laid out in an east-west direction and the main altar usually at the eastern end.
- To align or position with respect to a point or system of reference: oriented the telescope toward the moon; oriented her interests toward health care.
- To determine the bearings of.
- To make familiar with or adjusted to facts, principles, or a situation.
- To focus (the content of a story or film, for example) toward the concerns and interests of a specific group.
- To turn toward the east.
- To become adjusted or aligned.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin oriēns, orient-, rising sun, east, from present participle of orīrī, to arise, be born.]
