The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word OCCIDENT
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
O
C
C
I
D
E
N
T
More clues leading to the result OCCIDENT
- Wrong blood group supplied to crash in West End?
- Old money split by detectives in the West
- The West must take chance with a new leader
- Old detectives finding US money around the west
- West’s mishap having replaced leader
- West Country’s first to get noticed: mad about it
- Love and money enthralling hero in the west
- Detectives must probe old coin in the West
- Old coin featuring detectives in the West
- The West’s unfortunate mishap – love for action initially
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "The West/The West" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case the west/the west = occident.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does OCCIDENT mean?
OCCIDENT noun- The part of the horizon where the sun last appears in the evening; that part of the earth towards the sunset; the west.
- The Western world; the part of the world excluding Asia