northwest

1 of 3

adverb

north·​west nȯrth-ˈwest 

nautical

nȯr-ˈwest 

: to, toward, or in the northwest

northwest

2 of 3

adjective

1

: coming from the northwest

a northwest wind

2

: situated toward or at the northwest

the northwest corner

northwest

3 of 3

noun

1

a

: the general direction between north and west

b

: the point midway between the north and west compass points

2

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

Examples of northwest in a Sentence

Adverb

It's about 80 miles northwest of here.

I headed northwest on Route 1.

Adjective

the northwest corner of the building

Noun

A mountain range is in the northwest of the country.

We traveled throughout the Northwest.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adverb

In 2011, the deadliest quake and subsequent tsunami in recent Japanese history struck northwest of the capital Tokyo and killed at least 20,000 people. —Sana Noor Haq, CNN, 13 Jan. 2025

Sunday’s quake comes two days after three temblors shook the San Francisco Peninsula on Friday, with magnitudes of 3.6, 2.5 and 2.9 and epicenters 3 miles to 4 miles northwest of the San Francisco Zoo, according to the USGS. —Sierra Lopez, The Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2025

Adjective

Tuesday was expected to be blustery with northwest winds blowing between 10 to 15 mph with gusts as high as 25 mph, officials said. —Deanese Williams-Harris, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2025

Much depends on the Power of Siberia 2, a 2,700-mile pipeline that the Kremlin hopes will pipe 50 billion cubic meters a year between the Yamal Peninsula in the Arctic and northwest China. —Brendan Cole, Newsweek, 13 Jan. 2025

Noun

Silver Springs is about a 90-mile drive northwest from Orlando. —Mark Price, Miami Herald, 15 Jan. 2025

Crawford County is about a 160-mile drive northwest from Little Rock. —Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 15 Jan. 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 1

Noun

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

Phrases Containing northwest

• north-northwest
• northwest by north
• northwest by west
• the northwest
• west-northwest

Kids Definition

northwest

1 of 3 adverb

north·​west nȯrth-ˈwest 

nautical

nȯr-ˈwest 

: to or toward the northwest

northwest

2 of 3 noun

1

: the direction between north and west

2

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

northwest

3 of 3 adjective

1

: coming from the northwest

a northwest wind

2

: placed or lying toward or at the northwest

the northwest corner

Geographical Definition

North West

geographical name

variants or Noordwes

ˌnȯrd-ˈwes 

ˌnȯrt-

province of the northern part of the Republic of South Africa bordering Botswana area 44,861 square miles (116,190 square kilometers), population 3,509,953