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northwest

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northwest¹

  • /nɔɹθˈwɛst/ US
  • /nɔːθˈwɛst/ UK
  • /noːθˈwɛst/ British, Southern, Standard

Rhymes with -ɛst

Where it comes from

From Middle English northwest, from Old English norþwest, equivalent to north + west.

noun northwests · north-west · nor'-west · NW

  1. The intercardinal compass point halfway between west and north; specifically at a bearing of 315°.

    Opposite: southeast

adjective more northwest · most northwest · north-west · nor'-west · NW

  1. not comparable, usually Of, in or pertaining to the northwest; northwestern.
  2. not comparable, usually Situated toward or in the direction of the northwest; northwestward; northwesterly. a northwest course
  3. not comparable, usually Coming from the northwest; northwesterly. a northwest wind

adverb further northwest · farther northwest · furthest northwest · farthest northwest · north-west · nor'-west

  1. not comparable, usually Towards or in the direction of the northwest; northwestwards. We are travelling northwest at the moment.

Northwest²

Where it comes from

By proprialization from northwest.

proper noun the Northwest

  1. Any of various particular regions named for the cardinal direction in which they lie.
  2. US The northwestern region of the contiguous United States, including the Pacific Northwest.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: northwestern, northwesterly, nw, north, northeast, southwest, north-west, south-west, north-western, north-eastern, northern, north-east, northeastern, western, westerner, scotia

Translations

Every language

noun compass point

Españolnoroeste, nordoeste, noroccidente, nordoccidente
한국어서북 seobuk, 북서 bukseo
日本語北西 hokusei, 西北 seihoku, 乾 inui
中文西北 xīběi
हिन्दीपश्चिमोत्तर, उत्तरपश्चिम uttarpaścim
Kiswahilikaskazini-magharibi
Portuguêsnoroeste
Françaisnord-ouest
DeutschNordwesten
Italianonordovest
Ελληνικάβορειοδυτικά voreiodytiká
Românănord-vest
Русскийсе́веро-за́пад sévero-západ, норд-ве́ст nord-vést
Tiếng Việtphía tây bắc, hướng tây bắc, tây bắc

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Cite this
MLA

"northwest." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/northwest. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

northwest. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/northwest

Chicago

"northwest." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/northwest.

BibTeX
@misc{northwest_2026,
  title = {northwest},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/northwest},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}