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

Breezy Oaks is about 25 miles southwest of downtown Miami. —Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 6 Apr. 2026

At the time, the largest fire in Colorado state history, which burned in the mountains southwest of Denver. —Michael Abeyta, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026

Noun

Flying southwest to northeast, the spacecraft steered toward a splashdown zone southwest of San Diego, where a US Navy recovery ship held position to await the crew’s homecoming. —Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 11 Apr. 2026

Twenty minutes later, the crew module will hit Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific, about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) southwest of San Diego. —Mike Wall, Space.com, 10 Apr. 2026

Adjective

Two workers and one firefighter were hurt in an industrial fire at a business in southwest suburban Bedford Park Friday morning. —Asal Rezaei, CBS News, 10 Apr. 2026

Hundreds of thousands of Cameroonians have been displaced by violence between the government and separatists in the English-speaking north and southwest regions of the country. —Mathew Schmalz, The Conversation, 9 Apr. 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