southern

1 of 2

adjective

south·​ern ˈsə-t͟hərn 

1

capitalized : of, relating to, or characteristic of a region conventionally designated South

2

a

: lying toward the south

b

: coming from the south

a southern wind

southernness

ˈsə-t͟hərn-nəs 

noun often capitalized

Southern

2 of 2

noun

: the dialect of English spoken in most of the Chesapeake Bay area, the coastal plain and the greater part of the upland plateau in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, and the Gulf states at least as far west as the valley of the Brazos in Texas and sometimes taken to include the south Midland area

Examples of southern in a Sentence

Adjective

the southern part of the state

the southern shore of the lake

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Trump initially launched his tariff threats against Canada, China and Mexico over claims of record amounts of fentanyl flooding into the country from the U.S. northern and southern borders. —Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Apr. 2025

The tiny southern African kingdom of Lesotho has been hit with a 50% reciprocal trade tariff by U.S. President Donald Trump, the highest levy of any single state on his long list of target economies. —Silvia Aloisi, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2025

That is the exact case of the Heard Island and McDonald Islands, an Australian external territory in the southern Indian Ocean, which was hit with a 10% tariff. —Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2025

The park is in southern Thailand, a roughly 120-mile drive southwest from Bangkok and near the border with Myanmar. —Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English southern, southren, from Old English sūtherne; akin to Old High German sundrōni southern, Old English sūth south

First Known Use

Adjective

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

Noun

1935, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing southern

• southern corn rootworm
• southern fur seal
• southern hemisphere
• southern lights
• southern maidenhair fern
• southern minke whale

Kids Definition

southern

adjective

south·​ern ˈsət͟h-ərn 

1

capitalized : of, relating to, or characteristic of the South

2

: lying toward or coming from the south

southernmost

-ˌmōst 

adjective