northeast

1 of 3

adverb

north·​east nȯrth-ˈēst 

nautical

nȯr-ˈēst 

: to, toward, or in the northeast

northeast

2 of 3

adjective

1

: coming from the northeast

a northeast wind

2

: situated toward or at the northeast

the northeast corner

northeast

3 of 3

noun

1

a

: the general direction between north and east

b

: the point midway between the north and east compass points

2

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

Examples of northeast in a Sentence

Adverb

It's a few miles northeast of here.

We left the city and headed northeast.

Adjective

My office is in the northeast corner of the building.

Noun

A mountain range is in the northeast of the country.

Parts of the Northeast were hit hard by the storm.

I grew up in the Northeast.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb

Napa is about a 50-mile drive northeast from San Francisco. —Don Sweeney, Sacramento Bee, 19 Mar. 2025

Diaz is a roughly 90-mile drive northeast from Little Rock. —Mitchell Willetts, Kansas City Star, 19 Mar. 2025

Adjective

An air ambulance crashed in northeast Philadelphia on Feb. 1, killing seven people. —Jay Blackman, NBC News, 20 Mar. 2025

That includes most of the Mojave Desert and lands near Bakersfield, as well as a large swath of forest in the state’s northeast corner. —Thomas Elias, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2025

Noun

San Bernardino Earthquake Just before 10 p.m. Monday, a 3.4-magnitude earthquake struck roughly 3 miles north/northeast of San Bernardino, California. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025

After a brief respite on Saturday, gusty winds from the north and northeast are expected to return to the Los Angeles area as early as Sunday. —Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025

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 2

Noun

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

Phrases Containing northeast

• east-northeast
• northeast by east
• northeast by north
• north-northeast
• the northeast

Rhymes for northeast

• deceased
• decreased
• increased
• policed
• released
• southeast
• beast
• ceased
• creased
• east
• feast
• fleeced

Kids Definition

northeast

1 of 3 adverb

north·​east nȯr-ˈthēst 

nautical

nȯ-ˈrēst 

: to or toward the northeast

northeast

2 of 3 noun

1

: the direction between north and east

2

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

northeast

3 of 3 adjective

1

: placed or lying toward or at the northeast

the northeast corner

2

: coming from the northeast

a northeast wind