Northwest Passage

American  

noun

1. a ship route along the Arctic coast of Canada and Alaska, joining the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

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Northwest Passage British  

noun

1. the passage by sea from the Atlantic to the Pacific along the N coast of America: attempted for over 300 years by Europeans seeking a short route to the Far East, before being successfully navigated by Amundsen (1903–06)

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Northwest Passage Cultural  

1. A sea route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through northwestern America, often sought by early explorers. There is an actual Northwest Passage, but it requires sailing through far northern waters that are icebound much of the year.

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Etymology

Origin of Northwest Passage

First recorded in 1545–55

Example Sentences

Accompanied by HMS Terror, it was searching for the fabled Northwest Passage.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

As temperatures rise, multiyear ice in the northern Arctic is released southward, where it creates chokepoints in the Northwest Passage.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025

Rising global temperatures has meant that the Northwest Passage - which connects the Atlantic and Pacific through Arctic waters - has been ice-free during the summer.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2024

The Northwest Passage, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean in Canada, has lacked ice in the summertime in recent years, they said.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 5, 2024

The search for the Northwest Passage, or the attempt to explain planetary motion on the model of magnetism, were mistaken but useful.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton