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.
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
Ca Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 28 Nov. 2025
The 350 km-wide anomaly has been creeping southwest across the underside of North America for tens of millions of years.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 26 Nov. 2025
Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
Temperatures will reach around 30 degrees on Wednesday, but with a southwest wind gusting to around 25 miles per hour.
—Karen Carter, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
Caroline Neal, Louisville Courier Journal, 28 Nov. 2025
The work to untangle the history of cats is ongoing, and Losos noted a lack of archaeological samples from North Africa and southwest Asia means the domestic cat’s origin story is far from complete.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for southwest
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adverb
The epicenter was situated roughly 6 miles southwest of Idyllwild, at a depth of 10 miles.
—Ca Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 28 Nov. 2025
The 350 km-wide anomaly has been creeping southwest across the underside of North America for tens of millions of years.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 26 Nov. 2025
Noun
Between 3 and 8 inches of snow were expected to fall across the southwest and northwest San Juan Mountains into Thursday.
—Amanda Greenwood, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025
Temperatures will reach around 30 degrees on Wednesday, but with a southwest wind gusting to around 25 miles per hour.
—Karen Carter, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
Adjective
Southeast wind 10-14 mph becoming southwest after midnight.
—Caroline Neal, Louisville Courier Journal, 28 Nov. 2025
The work to untangle the history of cats is ongoing, and Losos noted a lack of archaeological samples from North Africa and southwest Asia means the domestic cat’s origin story is far from complete.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for southwest
Cite this Entry
“Southwest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/southwest. Accessed 6 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
southwest
1 of 3 adverb
south·west
sau̇th-ˈwest 
nautical sau̇-ˈwest
: to or toward the southwest
southwest
2 of 3 noun1
: the direction between south and west
2
capitalized
: regions or countries southwest of a point that is mentioned or understood
southwest
3 of 3 adjective1
: coming from the southwest
a southwest wind
2
: situated toward or at the southwest
the southwest corner
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