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

Intense air strikes overnight Tuesday drove back the rebels from the edge of Hama, Reuters reported, adding that fighting 3 miles northeast of the city raged, as regional players weighed up their responses. —Mark R. Weaver, Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2024

The incident occurred on Sunday when 5th precinct deputies from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in Florida responded to reports of a stabbing at a home on New York Drive in Tice, some 5 miles northeast of Fort Myers, Florida, according to a statement from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. —Jon Haworth, ABC News, 3 Dec. 2024

Adjective

Meta Platforms , a fellow Club holding, reinforced that fact this week with the announcement of a massive, $10 billion data center facility in northeast Louisiana. —Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 6 Dec. 2024

Recently, however, people began speculating that the fishy headgear has been adopted once again by a population of northeast Pacific orcas known as the Southern Residents. —Margherita Bassi, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Dec. 2024

Noun

The storm is expected to clear from the far northeast early Tuesday, though risks of further downpours and strong winds remain across the south of the UK until Wednesday, the Met Office has warned. —Manveena Suri, CNN, 25 Nov. 2024

Since 2010, the group’s annual data indicates about half of all yearly drownings in Lake Michigan have happened on its south end — including Illinois’ lakefront — which is considered particularly dangerous because winds from the north and northeast create large waves and strong currents. —Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 12 Nov. 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 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

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