northwest

1 of 3

adverb

north·​west nȯrth-ˈwest 

nautical

nȯr-ˈwest 

: to, toward, or in the northwest

northwest

2 of 3

adjective

1

: coming from the northwest

a northwest wind

2

: situated toward or at the northwest

the northwest corner

northwest

3 of 3

noun

1

a

: the general direction between north and west

b

: the point midway between the north and west compass points

2

capitalized : regions or countries lying to the northwest of a specified or implied point of orientation

Examples of northwest in a Sentence

Adverb

It's about 80 miles northwest of here.

I headed northwest on Route 1.

Adjective

the northwest corner of the building

Noun

A mountain range is in the northwest of the country.

We traveled throughout the Northwest.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb

Roque was from Ligonier, Indiana, a city in Perry Township about 40 miles northwest of Fort Wayne. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024

Another 215 supply flights using helicopters have taken off from Hickory Regional Airport, which is about 60 miles northwest of Concord. —Corky Siemaszko, NBC News, 3 Oct. 2024

Adjective

The 5-year-old boy who died following a car crash Friday night on Milwaukee's northwest side has been identified as Jaylen Sloan of Milwaukee, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office. —Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2024

He was scheduled to speak at 7:30 p.m. at an airport in Michigan's northwest Lower Peninsula. —Riley Beggin, USA TODAY, 26 Oct. 2024

Noun

Beginning in Chester County, Pennsylvania, west of Philadelphia, Harris and Cheney will then make stops in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, west of Milwaukee, and Oakland County, Michigan, northwest of Detroit. —Jeremy Yurow, USA TODAY, 21 Oct. 2024

The company developed the five-turbine Block Island Wind Farm, which is northwest of South Fork Wind, in 2016. —Pippa Stevens, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing northwest

• north-northwest
• northwest by north
• northwest by west
• the northwest
• west-northwest

Kids Definition

northwest

1 of 3 adverb

north·​west nȯrth-ˈwest 

nautical

nȯr-ˈwest 

: to or toward the northwest

northwest

2 of 3 noun

1

: the direction between north and west

2

capitalized : the regions or countries northwest of a point that is mentioned or understood

northwest

3 of 3 adjective

1

: coming from the northwest

a northwest wind

2

: placed or lying toward or at the northwest

the northwest corner

Geographical Definition

North West

geographical name

variants or Noordwes

ˌnȯrd-ˈwes 

ˌnȯrt-

province of the northern part of the Republic of South Africa bordering Botswana area 44,861 square miles (116,190 square kilometers), population 3,509,953