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• south
  south

  noun

  a cardinal point of the compass lying directly opposite north. S
• South
  South

  noun

  the southern part of England, generally regarded as lying to the south of an imaginary line between the Wash and the Severn

south

American  

[sauth, sauth, sauth] / saʊθ, saʊθ, saʊð /

noun

1. a cardinal point of the compass lying directly opposite north. S

2. the direction in which this point lies.

3. (usually initial capital letter) a region or territory situated in this direction.

4. the South, the general area south of Pennsylvania and the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi, consisting mainly of those states that formed the Confederacy.

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adjective

1. lying toward or situated in the south; directed or proceeding toward the south.

2. coming from the south, as a wind.

adverb

1. to, toward, or in the south.

2. Informal. into a state of serious decline, loss, or the like.

   Sales went south during the recession.

verb (used without object)

1. to turn or move in a southerly direction.

2. Astronomy. to cross the meridian.

South ¹ British  

/ saʊθ /

noun

1. the southern part of England, generally regarded as lying to the south of an imaginary line between the Wash and the Severn

2. 1. the area approximately south of Pennsylvania and the Ohio River, esp those states south of the Mason-Dixon line that formed the Confederacy during the Civil War

   2. the Confederacy itself

3. the countries of the world that are not economically and technically advanced

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adjective

1. 1. of or denoting the southern part of a specified country, area, etc

   2. ( capital as part of a name )

      the South Pacific

south ² British  

/ saʊθ /

noun

1. one of the four cardinal points of the compass, at 180° from north and 90° clockwise from east and anticlockwise from west

2. the direction along a meridian towards the South Pole

3. (often capital) any area lying in or towards the south

4. (usually capital) cards the player or position at the table corresponding to south on the compass

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adjective

1. situated in, moving towards, or facing the south

2. (esp of the wind) from the south

adverb

1. in, to, or towards the south

2. archaic (of the wind) from the south

south Idioms  

1. see go south.

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Etymology

Origin of south

before 900; Middle English suth ( e ), south ( e ) (adv., adj., and noun), Old English sūth (adv. and adj.); cognate with Old High German sund-

Explanation

If you're holding a compass, south is the direction that's directly opposite north. If you're standing in Tennessee, then Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia will be to the south. When you need to head south on a hiking trail, you can consult your compass and turn in the direction that's 180 degrees from north. And if you visit the South of France, you'll be staying in the southern part of the country geographically—luckily for you, it's also the warmest, sunniest part of France. The word south has a Germanic root meaning "sun-side."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

south South

But traffickers don’t have to travel south to reach the Atlantic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

But over 600 miles south in Imperial County, a household would have to make $131,000 or less to qualify.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

Mahmood Ul Islam, a 72-year-old lawyer in Kohat, south of Peshawar, told AFP he welcomed the emergency order, accusing the provincial government of "incompetence".

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

An operative arrives, gets in the car and drives it south to Mexico.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

We were headed south, up into the foothills of the Tatras.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

El Nino has been associated with strong drought in Indonesia, where tracts of forest and plantations have been burning in biodiverse Borneo and South Sumatra for months.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

“I call them the BMW of roller coasters,” said Scott J. Smith, an associate professor at the University of South Carolina, who consults for various theme-park operators.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

The first African dinosaur fossils to be noted scientifically hailed from the Eastern Cape, South Africa and were described in the 1850s.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

A similar case was filed last year in South Sumatra, but it was dismissed.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Unsatisfied with the local authorities’ assessment, Choi’s brother took the vases to much higher authorities in the South Korean capital of Seoul, who had a much different reaction.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

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