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

On June 10, 1971, an Amtrak train derailed near Tonti, about 250 miles southwest of Chicago. — Todd Feurer, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026

Smith didn’t play football until his senior year of high school in Greenville, Alabama (about 45 minutes southwest of Montgomery). — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 19 Aug. 2026

Noun

The areas that have had significant rainfall from this month's monsoon storms have seen a slight downtick in the drought levels -- for example, parts of southwest and northwest Colorado have seen many areas drop from extreme to severe. — Dave Aguilera, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026

Lead vocalist and guitarist Jim Coleman grew up in a small town southwest of Chicago and began playing guitar while in high school. — Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026

Adjective

The 199-megawatt Project Lightyear solar installation slated for southwest Georgia’s Miller County. — Kristi Swartz, AJC.com, 20 Aug. 2026

Equinor took a 17% stake in the license, joining Chevron, QatarEnergy, and Namibian firms such as Trago Energy in transforming the southwest African nation’s coast from an unproven frontier into sub-Saharan Africa’s hottest oil play. — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 19 Aug. 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