Re: 'Sorry, no results for "outwest" in the English dictionary.' So, it's not an acknowledged word then?
Re: "outwest"
Google search: About 496,000 results (the first 10 pages showing business names, except a street name and a hashtag).
Google search: "outwest meaning" --> "Did you mean: out west meaning"
Other search results for "outwest" (from dictionaries):
M-W: out West (idiom; variant: out west).
ODO: No exact matches found for "outwest" (nearest result: out West).
American Heritage: No word definition found.
Cambridge Dictionary: "words with similar spellings or pronunciations" (out west, southwest, outcast...).
Chambers: Sorry, no entries for outwest were found.
Collins: Sorry, no results for "outwest" in the English Dictionary. (Did you mean: outwrest, outjest, outwent...).
Based on that, I guess outwest is not an acknowledged word. I suppose some people and outfitters use it because western sounds sort of old-timey (e.g., outwest outfit vs. western wear). But I don't have access to the OED, not yet.
Question: Is outwest listed as an actual word in some source (not included in the ones I have listed above)?
Or is it considered idiomatic only by those who sell (or buy) a lot of steaks and/or boots, for example?
An example found online, similar to how I've heard outwest used most often (not including references to merchandise):
The guests enjoy the Arizona "outwest" vibe that [he] brings to the campfire with his songs and his stories.
--Activities Supervisor
(Unlinked quote due to "not secure" warning.)
"Outwest" is not a common term, but I have read it a few times. Obviously, it may sometimes represent simply a combination of "out" and "west" in "normal" (if perhaps erroneous) construction. Eg, "The Rockies are outwest."
But it is sometimes used as a noun, where "the outwest" (likely to be capitalized as either "Outwest" or "OutWest") means roughly the same as "the west" (in the sense of the western US).
And the term is also used as sort of adjective, with a flavor similar to "western", as noted in the original question. I suspect the intent is to avoid the "Cowboys and Indians" connotation of "western", and to make it seem more "edgy".
Unfortunately, searching for this term is a challenge, as there is (or was) a literary magazine, several businesses, and even at least one town named "Outwest".
As you suspect, "outwest" is not a real word.
"out West", two words, means "in the western part of the United States". NTC's AID
e.g. "I lived out West for ten years."
In the US you will also hear:
- back East (refers mainly to the American Northeast, the New England states)
- up North
- down South
Even those who have never been to the American Northeast, North, or South, may occasionally use these phrases. e.g. "My son went to college back East."