northwest

1 of 3

adverb

north·​west nȯrth-ˈwest 

nautical

nȯr-ˈwest 

: to, toward, or in the northwest

northwest

2 of 3

adjective

1

: coming from the northwest

a northwest wind

2

: situated toward or at the northwest

the northwest corner

northwest

3 of 3

noun

1

a

: the general direction between north and west

b

: the point midway between the north and west compass points

2

Northwest : 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

Adverb

Rockingham County is about a 105-mile drive northwest from downtown Raleigh. —Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 23 Apr. 2026

About an hour later, Matthews was shot multiple times near a grocery store in Brookhaven, about 15 miles northwest. —Holly Yan, CNN Money, 22 Apr. 2026

Adjective

Large hail and a brief tornado can’t be ruled out, mainly in eastern Kansas into far northwest Missouri, the weather service said. —Kansas City Star, 22 Apr. 2026

The boy was riding his bike in northwest Durham when Savarino’s vehicle struck him, according to the police. —Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2026

Noun

Dozens of wildfires are also burning in northern and central Florida, from Tampa up to Pensacola in the state’s northwest and Jacksonville in its northeast. —Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 23 Apr. 2026

The fire, burning northwest of Brunswick, Georgia, was 10% contained on Wednesday morning, Chuck White, director of Emergency Management in neighboring Camden County, said at the news conference. —Jessica Gorman, ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing northwest

• north-northwest
• northwest by north
• northwest by west
• the northwest
• west-northwest

Rhymes for northwest

• abreast
• accessed
• addressed
• appressed
• armrest
• arrest
• assessed
• attest
• backrest
• behest
• bequest
• caressed

Kids Definition

northwest

1 of 3 adverb

north·​west nȯrth-ˈwest 

nautical

nȯr-ˈwest 

: to or toward the northwest

northwest

2 of 3 noun

1

: 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 adjective

1

: 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