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

Category 1 Hurricane Isaias is 45 miles east-northeast of Pensacola, Florida and 65 miles northwest of Panama City, Florida. — Miami Herald Hurricane Bot, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026

This fall festival is roughly 30 minutes northwest of downtown Kansas City. — Rashad Alexander, Kansas City Star, 9 Oct. 2026

Adjective

Also on Weekend Update, James Austin Johnson portrayed a selfish Kevin O’Leary, the Shark Tank investor who is backing a massive data center campus in northwest Utah. — William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2026

The federal government is planning to airdrop more than 500,000 tiny packages that smell like fish across northwest Georgia in the next few weeks in an ongoing effort to protect the state's residents. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

Noun

Set on 460 acres in the Osage Hills northwest of downtown Tulsa, the Gilcrease campus additionally includes fourteen miles of trails. — News Desk, Artforum, 28 Sep. 2026

Polo was moving to the north-northwest at 12 mph about 285 miles west-southwest of Cabo San Lucas at the peninsula’s southern tip, according to the hurricane center. — Ryan Chandler, NBC news, 28 Sep. 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)