south

adverb

\ ˈsau̇th

Definition of south

(Entry 1 of 4)

1 : to, toward, or in the south a house facing south

2 : into a state of decline or ruin causes the sluggish economy to go south— G. F. Will

south

adjective

Definition of south (Entry 2 of 4)

1 : situated toward or at the south the south entrance

2 : coming from the south a south wind

south

noun

Definition of south (Entry 3 of 4)

1a : the direction of the south terrestrial pole : the direction to the right of one facing east

b : the compass point directly opposite to north

2 capitalized : regions or countries lying to the south of a specified or implied point of orientation especially : the southeastern part of the U.S.

3 : the right side of a church looking toward the altar from the nave

4 often capitalized

a : the one of four positions at 90-degree intervals that lies to the south or at the bottom of a diagram

b : a person (such as a bridge player) occupying this position in the course of a specified activity specifically : the declarer in bridge

5 often capitalized : the developing nations of the world : third world sense 1 — compare north sense 2b

South

biographical name

\ ˈsau̇th

Definition of South (Entry 4 of 4)

Robert 1634–1716 English clergyman

Examples of south in a Sentence

Adverb

Turn south onto Elm Street. It's a mile south of here. The birds fly south in the winter. The company's profits have gone south in recent months. The TV show's ratings have been heading south.

Noun

The wind blew from the south. The birds migrate from the South. Parts of the South were hit hard by the storm. I grew up in the South. The American Civil War was between the North and the South.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

Getting there: In Williams, go 3.8 miles south on Fourth Street (County Road 73/Perkinsville Road) to Forest Road 140. — Mare Czinar, azcentral, "You'll probably have the summit to yourself on this shady summer hike," 7 June 2019 All of the energy will come from solar farms, including Vistra's Luminant Upton 2 Solar Power Plant in Upton County in West Texas about 50 miles south of Midland. — L.m. Sixel, Houston Chronicle, "Don't want to install solar panels? Vistra has a plan," 7 June 2019 Location: Torres del Paine is about 1,900 miles south of Santiago, Chile. — Shivani Vora, Washington Post, "They’re both stunning. But one of these sites in Chile is less crowded and more affordable.," 6 June 2019 About 50 people were sick after a pump forced too much chlorine out of a jet at Pleasant Grove Veterans Memorial Pool about 36 miles south of Salt Lake City. — NBC News, "'Freak accident' at Utah pool sickens dozens with chlorine gas," 5 June 2019 While San Francisco is not exactly the heart of Silicon Valley — that would be about 20 miles south on the Caltrain line — her billboard, which went up on Wednesday, is above a lot of tech workers. — Nellie Bowles, New York Times, "Elizabeth Warren Sticks Her Message in Big Tech’s Face," 3 June 2019 Four miles south, another skyscraper was rising, and its owners had the same goal as the Chrysler developers: To erect the tallest building in the world. — Jonathan Schifman, Popular Mechanics, "A Friendship Turned to Rivalry. A Feud That Changed the New York Skyline.," 27 Mar. 2019 Late Thursday, some 140 migrants stranded in Piedras Negras were sent by bus some 270 miles south to Saltillo, Coahuila’s state capital, immigration and state officials said. — Juan Montes, WSJ, "Mexican Authorities Relocate Hundreds of Migrants From Border City," 15 Feb. 2019 Fairbanks, Alaska, America’s northernmost metropolitan area, is just 120 miles south of the Arctic Circle. — Brian Resnick, Vox, "The winter solstice is incredibly beautiful in America’s northernmost city," 20 Dec. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Chestnut Street is the first north-south street west of the railroad tracks. — Steve Sadin, chicagotribune.com, "What you need to know to navigate the $7 million construction season underway in Deerfield," 7 June 2019 The city also converted River and Lake streets, north-south thoroughfares downtown which once were one-way in opposite directions but are now two ways. — Steve Lord, Aurora Beacon-News, "Aurora set to make Downer Place a two-way street through East Side," 10 July 2018 These days, the noise hotline is a spot on the north-south runway project's website where people can submit comments. — Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News, "Readers had lots of questions about airplane noise from the airport’s runway closure. Here are some answers.," 10 July 2018 The 27-year-old only played 234 minutes of Premier League football last season, and was a fringe player during his time in south Wales - having only made 36 appearances since his arrival at the club in 2012. — SI.com, "West Brom in 'Advanced Talks' to Sign Swansea City Defender Kyle Bartley Ahead of Promotion Push," 9 July 2018 Now the independent shop is becoming a chain, with new locations coming to the Orlando neighborhoods of south downtown, the Hourglass District and Lake Nona. — Kyle Arnold, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orlando restaurants seek to grow aggressively after quick starts," 18 June 2018 This north-south drive connects with the ingress/egress access of the large parking field connected to Brookfield Square Drive on the south end of the mall, according to documents filed with the city. — Karen Pilarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Outback Steakhouse plans move to Brookfield Square," 13 June 2018 The National Flood Insurance Program, a vital but cracking foundation for homeowners and businesses alike in south Louisiana, expires in one month. — Drew Broach, NOLA.com, "On flood insurance, here's why John Kennedy thinks reform is languishing," 31 May 2018 Instead of a west-to-east trajectory, the jet stream starts to follow more of a north-to-south path. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "What Is a Polar Vortex? The Frigid Weather Pattern Explained," 16 Jan. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

He was hit about 12:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes of Interstate 495, south of Route 7 in Fairfax County. — Washington Post, "Man is fatally shot Saturday in Petworth neighborhood of D.C.," 9 June 2019 The Spurs are headed back to Mexico City, with another regular-season game against Phoenix set to be held south of the border, the team announced Friday. — Jeff Mcdonald, ExpressNews.com, "Spurs Notebook: Spurs to face Suns in Mexico City," 7 June 2019 But consultants and analysts are sounding the alarm that petrochemical demand is heading south of earlier forecasts. — Jack Kaskey, latimes.com, "Oil giants bet their futures on plastic — just in time for a plastic-trash crackdown," 6 June 2019 A few miles north of Ripon, south of a scenic wetland area where a rare ibis bird was once spotted, the trail passes by Vines & Rushes. — Chelsey Lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Beer and a bike ride: 12 breweries along bike trails in Wisconsin," 6 June 2019 Auto parts and vehicles top the list of goods the U.S. imports from Mexico, totaling $93 billion last year, while 17% of the cars sold by the Detroit automakers are assembled south of the border, according to Brandywine Global. — Alain Sherter, CBS News, "Ford: U.S. tariffs on Mexico would do "significant" damage," 6 June 2019 Crow Holdings Industrial plans to open a $26 million corporate business park with its first three buildings, adding more than 576,600 square feet of space in an area north of Mason Road and south of Interstate 90. — Rafael Guerrero, Elgin Courier-News, "Works starts on two buildings off Randall Road in Elgin, adding 405,000 square feet of new industrial space," 6 June 2019 Flash flooding is expected to begin once another two inches of rain falls, and is mainly expected along and south of Interstate 480. — Robin Goist, cleveland.com, "National Weather Service issues flash flood warning for Northeast Ohio until 10:30 p.m. Wednesday," 5 June 2019 Preliminary interest in space fronting Michigan Avenue and along Pioneer Court south of the tower has been strong, Golub said. — Ryan Ori, chicagotribune.com, "North Michigan Avenue tries to bring back the 'Magnificent' amid retail upheaval," 5 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'south.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.