1
: coming from the northwest
a northwest wind
2
: situated toward or at the northwest
the northwest corner
1
a
: the general direction between north and west
b
: the point midway between the north and west compass points
2
capitalized
: regions or countries lying to the northwest of a specified or implied point of orientation
Examples of northwest in a Sentence
Adverb
It's about 80 miles northwest of here.
I headed northwest on Route 1.
Adjective
the northwest corner of the building
Noun
A mountain range is in the northwest of the country.
We traveled throughout the Northwest.
Recent Examples on the Web
Clara Migoya, The Arizona Republic, 4 May 2024
Rescuers found the body around 5:30 p.m. about 2.5 miles northwest of the Drakes Beach parking area.
—Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2024
The hunter and his two dogs surprised the bear on Thursday, April 25, while walking along a ridge on private land northwest of Wolf Creek, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said in a May 3 news release.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 3 May 2024
The Denver area facility, just northwest of Charlotte, will manufacture battery separator components for North American customers.
—Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 2 May 2024
Wine Trail encompasses 19 wineries in the peninsula northwest of Traverse City.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 2 May 2024
The shooting took place Monday night on a residential street in Ashland City, about 20 miles northwest of Nashville.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
The tornado began around 4:40 p.m. and lasted around eight minutes in the town of about 730 people in Pottawatomie County, about 55 miles northwest of Topeka.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 1 May 2024
Bolinas is about 30 miles northwest of San Francisco.
—Rebecca Cohen, NBC News, 28 Apr. 2024
Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024
Blue jeans were made with perpendicular stitches in northwest Italy, while denim was woven in chevron patterns in southern France.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 May 2024
That story revolves around an ancient civilization that settled in the inhospitable terrain of northwest New Mexico between 850 and 1250 and built Chaco Canyon, a breathtaking hub of culture and trade home to about 10,000 Puebloan people.
—Lois Alter Mark, Travel + Leisure, 6 May 2024
The entrances are located at the northeast and northwest sides of the campus, referred to as the McCarthy and McClintock entrances.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024
One draft study of wastewater samples in a northwest Texas town found that signs of H5N1 have surged in sewers, but also that emergency room trends in the area were declining at the same time.
—Alexander Tin, CBS News, 3 May 2024
Defined by their blue and chestnut plumage, the blue rock thrush is most common throughout southern Europe, northwest Africa, Central Asia, northern China and Malaysia.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
That store had been open since 2012 on the city's northwest side.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024
Besides boosting the upcoming NFL draft in downtown Detroit, Duggan plans to drill down on improving the quality of life in neighborhoods in an intimate setting at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church on Detroit's northwest side.
—Detroit Free Press, 16 Apr. 2024
Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 7 May 2024
Pacoima is about a 30-mile drive northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
—Paloma Chavez, Sacramento Bee, 7 May 2024
Antrim is about an 80-mile drive northwest of Boston.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 7 May 2024
Elgin originally intended to install all of it at Broomhall, his ancestral home, northwest of Edinburgh.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 6 May 2024
Among the menagerie at Cuoco's ranch in Thousand Oaks, northwest of Los Angeles, are horses, donkeys, chickens, goats, cows and pigs.
—Julie Jordan, Peoplemag, 5 May 2024
The process begins at a holding reservoir called Clifton Court Forebay, northwest of Tracy, where gates are regularly opened to allow water to flow in from the delta’s rivers and channels.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2024
Weinstein is incarcerated in New York at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Albany.
—Michael R. Sisak, Fortune, 25 Apr. 2024
Livingston Parish is about a 70-mile drive northwest from New Orleans.
—Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
Adverb
The plume traveled northwest affecting wells in other systems.
—Clara Migoya, The Arizona Republic, 4 May 2024
Rescuers found the body around 5:30 p.m. about 2.5 miles northwest of the Drakes Beach parking area.
—Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2024
The hunter and his two dogs surprised the bear on Thursday, April 25, while walking along a ridge on private land northwest of Wolf Creek, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said in a May 3 news release.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 3 May 2024
The Denver area facility, just northwest of Charlotte, will manufacture battery separator components for North American customers.
—Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 2 May 2024
Wine Trail encompasses 19 wineries in the peninsula northwest of Traverse City.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 2 May 2024
The shooting took place Monday night on a residential street in Ashland City, about 20 miles northwest of Nashville.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
The tornado began around 4:40 p.m. and lasted around eight minutes in the town of about 730 people in Pottawatomie County, about 55 miles northwest of Topeka.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 1 May 2024
Bolinas is about 30 miles northwest of San Francisco.
—Rebecca Cohen, NBC News, 28 Apr. 2024
Adjective
They have been spotted around Birmingham, Montgomery and Huntsville, near Scottsboro and Gadsden along the Alabama-Georgia border, and near Florence and Sheffield in northwest Alabama.
—Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024
Blue jeans were made with perpendicular stitches in northwest Italy, while denim was woven in chevron patterns in southern France.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 May 2024
That story revolves around an ancient civilization that settled in the inhospitable terrain of northwest New Mexico between 850 and 1250 and built Chaco Canyon, a breathtaking hub of culture and trade home to about 10,000 Puebloan people.
—Lois Alter Mark, Travel + Leisure, 6 May 2024
The entrances are located at the northeast and northwest sides of the campus, referred to as the McCarthy and McClintock entrances.
—Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2024
One draft study of wastewater samples in a northwest Texas town found that signs of H5N1 have surged in sewers, but also that emergency room trends in the area were declining at the same time.
—Alexander Tin, CBS News, 3 May 2024
Defined by their blue and chestnut plumage, the blue rock thrush is most common throughout southern Europe, northwest Africa, Central Asia, northern China and Malaysia.
—Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 2 May 2024
That store had been open since 2012 on the city's northwest side.
—David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 17 Apr. 2024
Besides boosting the upcoming NFL draft in downtown Detroit, Duggan plans to drill down on improving the quality of life in neighborhoods in an intimate setting at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church on Detroit's northwest side.
—Detroit Free Press, 16 Apr. 2024
Noun
Woodstock is about a 60-mile drive northwest of Chicago.
—Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 7 May 2024
Pacoima is about a 30-mile drive northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
—Paloma Chavez, Sacramento Bee, 7 May 2024
Antrim is about an 80-mile drive northwest of Boston.
—Julia Marnin, Miami Herald, 7 May 2024
Elgin originally intended to install all of it at Broomhall, his ancestral home, northwest of Edinburgh.
—Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 6 May 2024
Among the menagerie at Cuoco's ranch in Thousand Oaks, northwest of Los Angeles, are horses, donkeys, chickens, goats, cows and pigs.
—Julie Jordan, Peoplemag, 5 May 2024
The process begins at a holding reservoir called Clifton Court Forebay, northwest of Tracy, where gates are regularly opened to allow water to flow in from the delta’s rivers and channels.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2024
Weinstein is incarcerated in New York at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Albany.
—Michael R. Sisak, Fortune, 25 Apr. 2024
Livingston Parish is about a 70-mile drive northwest from New Orleans.
—Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'northwest.' 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 northwest
Cite this Entry
“Northwest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/northwest. Accessed 10 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
northwest
1 of 3 adverb
north·west
nȯrth-ˈwest 
nautical
nȯr-ˈwest
: to or toward the northwest
northwest
2 of 3 noun1
: the direction between north and west
2
capitalized
: the regions or countries northwest of a point that is mentioned or understood
northwest
3 of 3 adjective1
: coming from the northwest
a northwest wind
2
: placed or lying toward or at the northwest
the northwest corner
Geographical Definition
North West
geographical name
variants
or Noordwes
ˌnȯrd-ˈwes
ˌnȯrt-
province of the northern part of the Republic of South Africa bordering Botswana area 44,861 square miles (116,190 square kilometers), population 3,509,953
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