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

In the town of White House, less than 10 miles northwest of Black River, small boats were washed ashore in a town where the economy is reliant on its closeness to the Caribbean Sea. —Avery Schmitz, CNN Money, 30 Oct. 2025

According to officials, Melodee and her mother live in Lompoc, California, which is about 50 miles northwest of Santa Barbara. —Melina Khan, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025

Adjective

Beijing Reuters — China’s Shenzhou-21 space rocket and its crew including the youngest member of its astronaut corps blasted off on Friday atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China, Chinese state media reported. —Reuters, CNN Money, 1 Nov. 2025

This evening's forecast includes quickly falling temperatures (from the 50s early to the upper 30s and low 40s late) and a slight northwest breeze of 5 to 10 mph. —Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 31 Oct. 2025

Noun

Carrie Davis, 65, has been a longtime activist in Colerain Township, a mostly Republican suburb of about 59,000 northwest of Cincinnati. —Carl Weiser, Cincinnati Enquirer, 4 Nov. 2025

Although the National Hurricane Center (NHC) is not currently tracking any systems, AccuWeather is keeping an eye on an area south of Cuba and northwest of Colombia. —Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2025

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