southwest

adverb

south·west | \ sau̇th-ˈwest

, naut sau̇-ˈwest\

Definition of southwest

(Entry 1 of 3)

: to, toward, or in the southwest

southwest

noun

Definition of southwest (Entry 2 of 3)

1a : the general direction between south and west

b : the point midway between the south and west compass points

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

southwest

adjective

Definition of southwest (Entry 3 of 3)

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

Arrest figures among area south and southwest suburban police departments varied, with most seeing a decrease last year compared with 2016, according to the AAIM survey. — Mike Nolan, Daily Southtown, "Orland Park among top communities in 2017 for DUI arrests, according to survey," 29 June 2018 Forecasters say Monday will be partly sunny and hot in Boston, with a high near 97, and southwest blowing gusts as high as 29 miles an hour., forecasters wrote. — Emily Sweeney, BostonGlobe.com, "First extreme heat of the season arrives," 18 June 2018 The storm, which had reached the Category 5 level, was located about 110 miles southwest of Cabo Corrientes, to the south of Puerto Vallarta, around 5 p.m. ET, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. — Anthony Harrup, WSJ, "Hurricane Willa, With Winds of 155 MPH, Aims for Mexico," 22 Oct. 2018 The facility in Chambersburg is located about 50 miles southwest of Harrisburg, according to FOX43. — Travis Fedschun, Fox News, "Pennsylvania Army depot explosion injures 4 people, 3 seriously, officials say," 19 July 2018 One place likely to get hit hard is Newport Beach’s Balboa Island, located about 40 miles southwest of LA. — Anne C. Mulkern, Scientific American, "Sea Level Rise Will Threaten Thousands of California Homes," 18 June 2018 It was located about 165 miles southwest of Tampa, Fla. — Robert Rhoden, NOLA.com, "Subtropical Storm Alberto - slightly stronger, moving faster," 27 May 2018 North Bend is a town of about 10,000, located 175 miles southwest of Portland. — Matthew Martinez, sacbee, "Principal ousted after LGBTQ students punished with Bible study, threatened with hell | The Sacramento Bee," 23 May 2018 Skripal lived in the town, located 90 miles southwest of London. — USA TODAY, "U.K.: Diners may have been exposed to nerve agent attack," 11 Mar. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Yesterday’s test involved an Avangard missile launched from Dombarovsky in southwest Russia and traveling more than 3,800 miles east to successfully land at the Kura Test Range on the Kamchatka Peninsula. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Russia Tests Yet Another Hypersonic Weapon," 27 Dec. 2018 Gacic is suspected of killing a grocery store owner near Konjic, southwest of Sarajevo, a week ago and shooting to death a policeman on Saturday in Suhodol, a village south of the capital city. — Eldar Emric, The Seattle Times, "Bosnia: Major manhunt underway for suspect in 2 slayings," 11 Feb. 2019 Photo: handout/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images The province of Sulu, which encompasses a string of islands stretching southwest from the large island of Mindanao, has long been a hotbed extremist groups, most notably Abu Sayyaf. — Jake Maxwell Watts, WSJ, "Philippine Terror Attack Kills at Least 20, Threatens Peace Hopes For Muslim Self-Rule," 27 Jan. 2019 Along one wall, a bank of windows looked to the southwest. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Quietly, Japan has established itself as a power in the aerospace industry," 15 Nov. 2018 Presently, Michael is around 60 miles south-southwest of Panama City. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Hurricane Michael Death Toll Rises to 11, Infrastructure in Crisis Throughout Southeast," 11 Oct. 2018 Explore Baxter State Park and the forests to the southwest, the contiguous Nahmakanta Public Reserved Land and Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) 100-Mile Wilderness Conservation Area. — Paul Rubio, Condé Nast Traveler, "Beautiful Places to See New England Fall Foliage This Year," 5 Oct. 2018 The storm, currently situated approximately 350 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, is moving west-northwest at 17 mph with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph, the NHC said in their 8 p.m. ET update. — Elizabeth Zwirz, Fox News, "Hurricane Florence charges towards East Coast as ‘monster’ storm, lawmaker says," 2 Oct. 2018 Hengen said there was roughly one-quarter mile of visibility as crews searched for the crash site about 40 miles (63 kilometers) southwest of Ketchikan. — Time, "All 11 People on Board Survived Alaska Plane Crash, Coast Guard Says," 11 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Willis said there were two confirmed tornado touchdowns in the state: one in southwest Atlanta and another in Crawford County in central Georgia. — Kate Brumback, Fox News, "Georgia girl, 11, dies as Michael hurls debris through roof," 12 Oct. 2018 The highest rates were in southwest Washington, in rural counties like Pacific and Cowlitz counties; and in northeast Washington, places such as Ferry and Pend Oreille counties. — Erik Lacitis, The Seattle Times, "‘Something wasn’t clicking’: WSU study shows offspring of pregnant rats exposed to THC have impaired development," 20 Nov. 2018 There are still many unknowns regarding Stonehenge, a ring of stones in southwest England that has fascinated the world, including Buzz Aldrin, for centuries. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "The People Who Built Stonehenge Came From Wales," 3 Aug. 2018 The Financial Times reports from southwest England, where the cost of Brexit is being felt in a former Spitfire plant. — Ian Wishart, Bloomberg.com, "Brexit Bulletin: Pandora’s Box," 27 June 2018 This eclectic pile of rubbish came from just one (!) small beach in southwest England. — Jenny Mccoy, SELF, "What You Need to Know About ‘Plogging,’ The New Eco-Friendly Fitness Craze," 11 May 2018 Fort McNair is in southwest Washington, west of Nationals Park. — Martin Weil And Matt Zapotosky, BostonGlobe.com, "‘Suspicious packages’ received at military installations in Washington area," 27 Mar. 2018 The first was discovered Monday morning at the National Defense University, at Fort McNair in southwest Washington. — NBC News, "Six suspicious packages sent to military, intelligence sites, officials say," 26 Mar. 2018 Narrowly spared execution, he was banished to Yelang, a remote southwest region, essentially China’s Siberia. — Yunte Huang, WSJ, "‘The Banished Immortal’ Review: ‘Heaven Begot a Talent Like Me’," 11 Jan. 2019

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