1
: situated toward or at the north
the north entrance
2
: coming from the north
a north wind
1
a
: the direction of the north terrestrial pole : the direction to the left of one facing east
b
: the compass point directly opposite to south
2
capitalized
a
: regions or countries lying to the north of a specified or implied point of orientation
b
: the industrially and economically developed nations of the world compare south sense 5
3
often capitalized
a
: the one of four positions at 90-degree intervals that lies to the north or at the top of a diagram
b
: a person occupying this position in the course of a specified activity (such as the game of bridge)
Examples of north in a Sentence
Adverb
Turn north onto Elm Street.
It's a few miles north of here.
The bird is found as far north as Canada.
Noun
The wind is coming from the north.
The birds migrate from the North.
Parts of the North were hit hard by the storm.
I grew up in the North.
The American Civil War was between the North and the South.
Recent Examples on the Web
Alexander Tin, CBS News, 3 May 2024
The park stretches north and south between Interstate 40 and U.S. 180.
—Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 3 May 2024
The 28th annual parade starts at 10 a.m. June 29 at the intersection of North Coast Highway and Wisconsin Avenue and will head north on Coast Highway to Civic Center Drive.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 May 2024
In the springtime, caribou herds migrate north toward calving grounds and summer ranges, sometimes moving en masse by the tens of thousands.
—Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 2 May 2024
At a press conference Wednesday, New York City Police Department Chief of Patrol John Chell said 282 people associated with the protests at both Columbia and around 20 blocks north at the City College of New York had been arrested.
—Asher Stockler, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
As the crew concludes its mission in the Beaufort Sea, the sub heads north before surfacing at the North Pole.
—Kenny Holston, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2024
Maria De Lose Garcia Galindo, of St. Paul, and the child, Sebastian Chavez Garcia, were traveling north on the highway in a Toyota Camry when Galindo crossed the centerline and collided head on with a flatbed semi-trailer truck near 250th Street just after 10:30 a.m., the State Patrol said.
—Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 30 Apr. 2024
Next up: Sporting KC heads north to St. Paul, Minnesota.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 21 Apr. 2024
Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
Al Shifa is one of the few healthcare facilities even partially operational in north Gaza, and - like others - had also been housing some of the nearly 2 million civilians - over 80% of Gaza's population - displaced by the war.
—Nidal Al-Mughrabi, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024
Focus areas for Safe Zone will be on Detroit’s north and south sides spanning from Curtis Avenue to Schoolcraft Road, and east and west orders from Wyoming Avenue to Hubbell Street.
—Detroit Free Press, 26 Aug. 2023
Currie Commons is a 187-unit complex under construction in the Harrison neighborhood of north Minneapolis, where the poverty rate exceeds 30%.
—Mark Niquette and Augusta Saraiva, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Aug. 2023
Storms on Tuesday afternoon took down a lot of trees and caused other wind damage in north Alabama.
—Leigh Morgan, al, 19 July 2023
Six minutes later, San Diego Police and California Highway Patrol received calls about a rollover crash involving a white convertible on north Interstate 805 at Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, police said.
—Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2023
In a moment, the Pacific Plate shifted north by an average of 15 feet relative to its North American partner.
—WIRED, 15 June 2023
Some north Alabama counties have been dropped from the watch, but others have been added to the south: Storms overnight could be packing damaging wind gusts and hail, forecasters said.
—Leigh Morgan, al, 11 June 2023
Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2024
Peoria is about a 75-mile drive north from Springfield.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Kansas City Star, 7 May 2024
Foxconn's agreement to give up its options to allow the sale of the land north and east of its campus amounted to its first public acknowledgment that its Wisconsin plans had been dramatically scaled back.
—Karl Ebert, Journal Sentinel, 4 May 2024
Wolf Creek is an unincorporated community about a 35-mile drive north from Helena.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 3 May 2024
The crash also came less than a week after another hit-and-run, when a driver killed a 4-year-old girl and injured her mother on Milwaukee’s north side.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 6 May 2024
Modi is not from here — he was raised in a town in Gujarat, in western India — but representing Varanasi, in India's north, is important because Modi and his party have pledged to remake India as a Hindu nation.
—Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 6 May 2024
Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible for portions of north central, northeast, and south central Texas, including in north central Texas, Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Freestone, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman, Limestone, Navarro and Rockwall counties.
—Star-Telegram Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 May 2024
The advisory said drivers heading to the West Valley can avoid the I-10 closure by using the Loop 202 west and north to connect with the I-10 at 59th Avenue.
Between Broadway Road and 48th Street, the westbound I-10 will be narrowed to three lanes.
—Kira Caspers, The Arizona Republic, 3 May 2024
Adverb
Multiple herds were likely infected during that initial spillover before the birds migrated north, officials have said.
—Alexander Tin, CBS News, 3 May 2024
The park stretches north and south between Interstate 40 and U.S. 180.
—Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 3 May 2024
The 28th annual parade starts at 10 a.m. June 29 at the intersection of North Coast Highway and Wisconsin Avenue and will head north on Coast Highway to Civic Center Drive.
—Linda McIntosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 May 2024
In the springtime, caribou herds migrate north toward calving grounds and summer ranges, sometimes moving en masse by the tens of thousands.
—Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 2 May 2024
At a press conference Wednesday, New York City Police Department Chief of Patrol John Chell said 282 people associated with the protests at both Columbia and around 20 blocks north at the City College of New York had been arrested.
—Asher Stockler, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
As the crew concludes its mission in the Beaufort Sea, the sub heads north before surfacing at the North Pole.
—Kenny Holston, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2024
Maria De Lose Garcia Galindo, of St. Paul, and the child, Sebastian Chavez Garcia, were traveling north on the highway in a Toyota Camry when Galindo crossed the centerline and collided head on with a flatbed semi-trailer truck near 250th Street just after 10:30 a.m., the State Patrol said.
—Nick Ferraro, Twin Cities, 30 Apr. 2024
Next up: Sporting KC heads north to St. Paul, Minnesota.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 21 Apr. 2024
Adjective
Around 1902, the village of Pembroke sprouted near present-day Carver Ranches, and many of the early settlers were from north Florida.
—Miami Herald, 16 Apr. 2024
Al Shifa is one of the few healthcare facilities even partially operational in north Gaza, and - like others - had also been housing some of the nearly 2 million civilians - over 80% of Gaza's population - displaced by the war.
—Nidal Al-Mughrabi, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024
Focus areas for Safe Zone will be on Detroit’s north and south sides spanning from Curtis Avenue to Schoolcraft Road, and east and west orders from Wyoming Avenue to Hubbell Street.
—Detroit Free Press, 26 Aug. 2023
Currie Commons is a 187-unit complex under construction in the Harrison neighborhood of north Minneapolis, where the poverty rate exceeds 30%.
—Mark Niquette and Augusta Saraiva, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Aug. 2023
Storms on Tuesday afternoon took down a lot of trees and caused other wind damage in north Alabama.
—Leigh Morgan, al, 19 July 2023
Six minutes later, San Diego Police and California Highway Patrol received calls about a rollover crash involving a white convertible on north Interstate 805 at Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, police said.
—Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 July 2023
In a moment, the Pacific Plate shifted north by an average of 15 feet relative to its North American partner.
—WIRED, 15 June 2023
Some north Alabama counties have been dropped from the watch, but others have been added to the south: Storms overnight could be packing damaging wind gusts and hail, forecasters said.
—Leigh Morgan, al, 11 June 2023
Noun
Ashton Burris was crossing Rios Canyon Road near Kelli Lane about 6 p.m. on April 14 when he was struck by a 1991 GMC Sierra headed north, officials said.
—Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 May 2024
Peoria is about a 75-mile drive north from Springfield.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Kansas City Star, 7 May 2024
Foxconn's agreement to give up its options to allow the sale of the land north and east of its campus amounted to its first public acknowledgment that its Wisconsin plans had been dramatically scaled back.
—Karl Ebert, Journal Sentinel, 4 May 2024
Wolf Creek is an unincorporated community about a 35-mile drive north from Helena.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 3 May 2024
The crash also came less than a week after another hit-and-run, when a driver killed a 4-year-old girl and injured her mother on Milwaukee’s north side.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 6 May 2024
Modi is not from here — he was raised in a town in Gujarat, in western India — but representing Varanasi, in India's north, is important because Modi and his party have pledged to remake India as a Hindu nation.
—Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 6 May 2024
Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible for portions of north central, northeast, and south central Texas, including in north central Texas, Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Falls, Fannin, Freestone, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman, Limestone, Navarro and Rockwall counties.
—Star-Telegram Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 May 2024
The advisory said drivers heading to the West Valley can avoid the I-10 closure by using the Loop 202 west and north to connect with the I-10 at 59th Avenue.
Between Broadway Road and 48th Street, the westbound I-10 will be narrowed to three lanes.
—Kira Caspers, The Arizona Republic, 3 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'north.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near north
Cite this Entry
“North.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/north. Accessed 11 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
north
1 of 3 adverb
: to or toward the north
north
2 of 3 adjective1
: placed or lying toward or at the north
the north entrance
2
: coming from the north
a north wind
north
3 of 3 noun1
a
: the direction to the left of one facing east
b
: the compass point opposite to south
2
capitalized
: regions or countries north of a point that is mentioned or understood
Biographical Definition
North
2 of 3biographical name (2)
Frederick 1732–1792 Lord North English statesman; prime minister (1770–82)
North
3 of 3biographical name (3)
Sir Thomas 1535–?1603 English translator
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