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

Parkville is about a 20-mile drive northeast of Baltimore. —Paloma Chavez, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2025

Sierra Madre, a city 15 miles northeast of Los Angeles, issued an evacuation warning through Friday morning. —Christopher Cann, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2025

Adjective

The storm is moving in a northeast direction at speeds of 35 mph, with wind gusts of up to 60 mph, the NWS said. —Russel Honoré, Newsweek, 5 Mar. 2025

Courtesy of Toyota The biggest international plant here is Toyota, which has been assembling Corollas in northeast Mississippi since 2011. —Debbie Elliott, NPR, 4 Mar. 2025

Noun

In terms of geography, to the east and northeast sits Cambodia and Laos respectively, there’s Myanmar to the northwest, Malaysia to the south, and the coastal areas of the country sit on the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand. —Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 2 Mar. 2025

In Syria, aid programs for some 2.5 million people in the country's northeast stopped providing services, according to the U.N. secretary-general. —Sam Mednick, arkansasonline.com, 2 Mar. 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