northwest

1 of 3

adverb

north·​west nȯrth-ˈwest How to pronounce northwest (audio)
nautical
nȯr-ˈwest How to pronounce northwest (audio)
: 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
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
Adverb
Authorities say the areas most affected were in the Indian Lake and Orchard Island, about 70 miles northwest of Columbus. USA TODAY, 16 Mar. 2024 This year, an area about 25 minutes northwest of Torreón, Mexico, will offer the longest totality at four minutes and 28 seconds, but people across Texas and even as far north as Economy, Indiana, will see totality that lasts longer than four minutes. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 5 Mar. 2024 Summerville is about 90 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta. Tanasia Kenney, Miami Herald, 4 Mar. 2024 Point Reyes National Seashore is about 40 miles northwest of San Francisco. Don Sweeney, Sacramento Bee, 3 Mar. 2024 Randallstown is about 15 miles northwest of Baltimore. Daniella Segura, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2024 The Aubrey Fire began Tuesday near Route 66 about seven miles northwest of Seligman and was 40% contained, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management said Wednesday. Shelby Slade, The Arizona Republic, 6 Mar. 2024 The 9,300-square-foot home, about 7 miles northwest of downtown and another five miles from the prestigious Austin Country Club, presides over nearly half an acre of gated and secured grounds—there’s even a security pavilion just outside the entry gates—with about 115 feet of shoreline. Mark David, Robb Report, 27 Feb. 2024 Located about 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles, the small town is tucked in a valley among the scenic Topatopa Mountains. Megan Wood, Travel + Leisure, 17 Feb. 2024
Adjective
West northwest wind 11 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Mar. 2024 For instance, the Whiting refinery in northwest Indiana — the largest BP refinery on the planet and the biggest refinery in the Midwest — shut down in early February and has not fully recovered. Matt Egan, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 Then there are the mid-tier areas, 40% to 60%, like the far northwest corner of Colorado, which is struggling with the loss of coal production, and improving south-central counties like Pueblo, Huerfano and Fremont, along with Gunnison and Rio Grande counties. Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2024 Officials also warned about traveling on any road above 1,000 feet in northwest California. Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2024 Chambers compared the January shooting to one in 2022, where a worker was shot and killed after a man was denied entry to a downtown club, and to a 2023 shooting, where five people were injured outside of a northwest side bar. Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2024 Hu-DeHart studied Latin American and Caribbean history and wrote extensively, at the beginning of her academic career, on the Yaqui, a Native tribe with roots in northwest Mexico. Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 About half of her genes can be traced to Cameroon, Congo, Nigeria, Senegal, the Ivory Coast, and other countries in Africa, while the other half can be traced to many regions of Europe, among them England, northwest Europe, Eastern Europe, Ireland, France and Spain. Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 26 Feb. 2024 Up to 20 inches of snow is forecast to fall in northwest Colorado through early Saturday morning and may cause avalanches in the mountains near Steamboat Springs. Katie Langford, The Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2024
Noun
Dress for the 40s as winds from the west and northwest are sustained at 10 to 15 mph with some gusts to 25 mph. Jason Samenow, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024 The parental notification policy was similar to those passed by governing boards in Chino, Murrieta and Temecula, as well as the Anderson Union High School District in Shasta County and the Rocklin school district, northwest of Sacramento. Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Manchester is in Carroll County, about a 35-mile drive northwest of Baltimore. Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024 Winding Creek is settled around the Pleasant Grove Creek running west to northwest and surrounded by illustrious oak trees. Bang Advertising Staff and Correspondents, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024 The winter storms last week pulled in winds from the north and northwest, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Taylor Patterson. Drew Dawson, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024 Weinstein did not attend the arguments but was said to be monitoring a livestream from the state prison where he is incarcerated, Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Albany. Michael R. Sisak, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2024 The campground and day-use area are the only public access on Round Lake, northwest of Tawas in northern lower Michigan. Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 6 Mar. 2024 He was sentenced to 23 years in prison and is incarcerated at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, a state prison about 100 miles (161 kilometers) northwest of Albany. TIME, 14 Feb. 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.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of northwest was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near northwest

northwardly

northwest

North West

Cite this Entry

“Northwest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/northwest. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

northwest

1 of 3 adverb
north·​west nȯrth-ˈwest How to pronounce northwest (audio)
nautical
nȯr-ˈwest How to pronounce northwest (audio)
: 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 How to pronounce North West (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on northwest

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