southwest

1 of 3

adverb

south·​west sau̇th-ˈwest 

nautical sau̇-ˈwest

: to, toward, or in the southwest

southwest

2 of 3

noun

1

a

: the general direction between south and west

b

: the point midway between the south and west compass points

2

Southwest : regions or countries lying to the southwest of a specified or implied point of orientation

especially : the southwestern part of the U.S.

southwest

3 of 3

adjective

1

: coming from the southwest

a southwest wind

2

: situated toward or at the southwest

the southwest corner

Examples of southwest in a Sentence

Adverb

It's about 80 miles southwest of here.

Noun

A mountain range is in the southwest of the country.

These plants grow in the Southwest.

Adjective

the southwest corner of the building

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb

The organization bought land southwest of the city on what was known as 19th Street Pike. —Arkansas Online, 23 May 2026

Three agents and two vehicles took the CFO and three staff members to the Hard Rock Stadium nearly 14 miles southwest in time for kickoff for the Dolphins-Baltimore Ravens game, the email said. —Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 May 2026

Noun

District 1 Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez faces four challengers in District 1, which stretches from Highland Park on the northeast to University Park on the southwest. —Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026

River basins from the western coast to Colorado to the southwest are also less than 20 percent of normal, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. —Kasha Patel, CNN Money, 23 May 2026

Adjective

Extreme fire weather danger Extreme fire weather danger is forecast for Monday from northeast New Mexico, across the Texas Panhandle and into southwest Kansas and Oklahoma. —Kenton Gewecke, ABC News, 18 May 2026

The highest fire risk Monday will be across the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles and into southwest Kansas, where extremely critical fire conditions are expected. —Kathryn Prociv, NBC news, 18 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

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

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing southwest

• south-southwest
• southwest by south
• southwest by west
• west-southwest

Rhymes for southwest

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

Kids Definition

southwest

1 of 3 adverb

south·​west sau̇th-ˈwest 

nautical sau̇-ˈwest

: to or toward the southwest

southwest

2 of 3 noun

1

: the direction between south and west

2

capitalized : regions or countries southwest of a point that is mentioned or understood

southwest

3 of 3 adjective

1

: coming from the southwest

a southwest wind

2

: situated toward or at the southwest

the southwest corner