north

¹

[nawrth]

noun

1. a cardinal point of the compass, lying in the plane of the meridian and to the left of a person facing the rising sun. N

2. the direction in which this point lies.

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

4. the North, the northern area of the United States, especially the states that fought to preserve the Union in the Civil War, lying to the north of the Ohio River, and usually including Missouri and Maryland.

5. (initial capital letter),  North Country.

6. the north wind.

adjective

1. in, toward, or facing, the north.

   the north gate.

2. directed or proceeding toward the north.

   a north course.

3. coming from the north.

   a north wind.

4. (usually initial capital letter),  designating the northern part of a region, nation, country, etc..

   North Atlantic.

adverb

1. to, toward, or in the north.

   sailing north.

North

²

[nawrth]

noun

1. Christopher, pen name of John Wilson.

2. Frederick, 2nd Earl of Guilford Lord North, 1732–92, British statesman: prime minister 1770–82.

3. Sir Thomas, 1535?–1601?, English translator.

north

¹

/ nɔːθ /

noun

1. one of the four cardinal points of the compass, at 0° or 360°, that is 90° from east and west and 180° from south

2. the direction along a meridian towards the North Pole

3. the direction in which a compass needle points; magnetic north

4. (often capital) any area lying in or towards the north

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

adjective

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

2. (esp of the wind) from the north

adverb

1. in, to, or towards the north

2. archaic,  (of the wind) from the north

North

²

/ nɔːθ /

noun

1. the northern area of England, generally regarded as reaching approximately the southern boundaries of Yorkshire and Lancashire

2. (in the US) the area approximately north of Maryland and the Ohio River, esp those states north of the Mason-Dixon Line that were known as the Free States during the Civil War

3. the northern part of North America, esp the area consisting of Alaska, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut; the North Country

4. the countries of the world that are economically and technically advanced

5. poetic,  the north wind

adjective

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

   2. ( as part of a name )

      North Africa

North

³

/ nɔːθ /

noun

1. Frederick, 2nd Earl of Guildford, called Lord North. 1732–92, British statesman; prime minister (1770–82), dominated by George III. He was held responsible for the loss of the American colonies

2. Sir Thomas. ?1535–?1601, English translator of Plutarch's Lives (1579), which was the chief source of Shakespeare's Roman plays

Word History and Origins

Origin of north¹

before 900; Middle English, Old English, cognate with Dutch noord, German Nord, Old Norse northr

Word History and Origins

Origin of north¹

Old English; related to Old Norse northr, Dutch noord, Old High German nord

Example Sentences

Sam Fender has won the 2025 Mercury Prize for his third album, People Watching, a steely-eyed dissection of working-class life in the north of England.

Read more on BBC

Los Angeles resident Ricardo Fosado told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was on a business trip to Chicago and decided to travel north to catch his hometown team.

Read more on Salon

"It's crazy, man," he says of the deployment of US warships, fighter jets, a submarine and thousands of US troops in waters north of Venezuela's coast.

Read more on BBC

Resting on its north pole is a bust of Henson.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Though Shelvey has uprooted from the UK, the 33-year-old said the north east was "the only place there he would want to live".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• northward