southwest

1 of 3

adverb

south·​west sau̇th-ˈwest 

 nautical  sau̇-ˈwest

: to, toward, or in the southwest

southwest

2 of 3

noun

1

a

: the general direction between south and west

b

: the point midway between the south and west compass points

2

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

especially : the southwestern part of the U.S.

southwest

3 of 3

adjective

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

Adverb

The township is about 27 miles southwest of Chicago. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024

Fort Leonard Wood is about 140 miles southwest of St. Louis. —Michelle Watson, CNN, 1 Nov. 2024

Noun

What ProPublica Reporters Will Be Watching on Election Day Our data analysis showed that the number of migrants crossing the southwest border into the United States was not vastly higher than in other periods of history. —Stephen Engelberg, ProPublica, 5 Nov. 2024

Democrats move to flip East End blue While Republicans are hoping to gain ground in the southwest, Democrats are honing in on Louisville's East End. —Eleanor McCrary, The Courier-Journal, 4 Nov. 2024

Adjective

Brennan said tornadoes were possible in the southwest corner of Florida, including the Keys, starting Wednesday morning and spanning through the afternoon. —Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 5 Nov. 2024

Republicans hope to turn more of southwest Louisville red In 2022, Republicans flipped two seats in Louisville's southwest corner from blue to red, with Dan Seum Jr. and Khalil Batshon defeating two Democratic incumbents, Mark Fox and Amy Holton Stewart. —Eleanor McCrary, The Courier-Journal, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

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

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing southwest

• south-southwest
• southwest by south
• southwest by west
• west-southwest

Kids Definition

southwest

1 of 3 adverb

south·​west sau̇th-ˈwest 

 nautical  sau̇-ˈwest

: to or toward the southwest

southwest

2 of 3 noun

1

: the direction between south and west

2

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

southwest

3 of 3 adjective

1

: coming from the southwest

a southwest wind

2

: situated toward or at the southwest

the southwest corner