This is the 12478th most frequent German word.
westen
"Westen" in German means "west" or "the West" (direction or region).
Here 'westen' refers to a geographical region or direction, that is, the western part of Germany.
Der Westen Deutschlands ist bekannt für seine Industrie.
The west of Germany is known for its industry.
In this sentence, 'Weste' is the noun referring to an article of clothing, demonstrating a different lexical usage.
Ich habe eine neue Weste gekauft, um mich warmzuhalten.
I bought a new vest to keep myself warm.
Again, 'westen' is used here as a noun relating to the cardinal direction 'west', showing directional context.