southerly

1 of 2

adjective or adverb

south·​er·​ly ˈsə-t͟hər-lē 

1

: situated toward or belonging to the south

the southerly shore of the lake

2

: coming from the south

a southerly wind

southerly

2 of 2

noun

plural southerlies

: a wind from the south

Examples of southerly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective or adverb

The National Weather Service noted a second version that says seeing woolly bear's crawling in a southerly direction means are trying to escape the cold winter conditions of the north. — Sarah Moore, Freep.com, 18 Sep. 2026

The southerly wind will gust up to 20 mph and continue to pump in moisture from the Gulf. — Lauren Bostwick, CBS News, 15 Aug. 2026

Noun

With nowhere to go put up as these southerly winds are forced into the ridge of the Sierra, the rising pockets of moisture will fall as rain along the mountaintops. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Wednesday is expected to be sunny as well but breezier, with temperatures rising to around 89 buffeted by southwesterly then southerly winds of up to 11 mph and gusts as high as 18 mph. — The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective or adverb

south entry 3 + -erly (as in easterly)

First Known Use

Adjective Or Adverb

1550, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

1837, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for southerly

• brotherly
• motherly

Kids Definition

southerly

adverb or adjective

south·​er·​ly

ˈsət͟h-ər-lē

1

: toward the south

2

: coming from the south