In Italian, est is the word for east, referring to the cardinal direction. It is used just like its English counterpart to describe geographical locations or directions. Est is commonly used in maps, weather reports, and general discussions about orientation.
For example:
Il sole sorge a est – The sun rises in the east.
Vivo nella parte est della città – I live in the eastern part of the city.
Est is also part of compound words such as Europa dell’est (Eastern Europe) or Italia dell’est (Eastern Italy, though this is not a commonly used expression as Italy is more often divided into north, central, and south).
In summary, est means east in Italian and is used in both literal and figurative contexts, similar to how it is used in English.