Midwest

American  

[mid-west] / ˈmɪdˈwɛst /

noun

1. the north-central region of the United States, especially the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

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adjective

1. Midwestern.

Midwest British  

/ ˈmɪdˈwɛst /

noun

1. the N central part of the US; the region consisting of the states from Ohio westwards that border on the Great Lakes, often extended to include the upper Mississippi and Missouri valleys

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Usage

What does Midwest mean? The Midwest is the northern central area of the mainland United States. Generally, the boundaries of the Midwest are Canada to the north, the Rocky Mountains to the west, the southern borders of Missouri and Kansas to the south, and the Allegheny Mountains to the east. Sometimes the Midwest is thought of as extending to the eastern border of Illinois or Ohio. The Midwest is one of the United States’ four official regions as defined by the U. S. Census Bureau. Because the Census Bureau doesn’t divide states when defining regions, it sets Ohio as the Midwest’s eastern border. According to the Census, 12 states are located within the Midwest: Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. Americans themselves often differ in terms of which states they consider to be in the Midwest. Sometimes, states on the fringes, such as Ohio or North Dakota, aren’t considered to be a part of the Midwest. Adjective forms of Midwest include Midwestern and Middle Western, but Midwest can also be used as an adjective, as in Midwest states. A person from the Midwest can be called a Midwesterner. Much less commonly, it’s called the Middle West. Example: I always love to travel to the central United States to see the beautiful scenery of the Midwest.

Other Word Forms

• Midwesterner
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Midwest

First recorded in 1890–95; mid- + west

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Midwest

While that would provide partial relief in the Gulf and Midwest, according to Pearce, he adds it would be of "little benefit" to the Northeast and West Coast.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Farm bankruptcies jumped 46 percent from 2024 to 2025, with the Midwest outpacing other regions, on lower revenue and rising expenses.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Around 1000 A.D., a new cultural system developed in the Mississippi River Valley and spread across large parts of what are now the Midwest and eastern United States.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

The move to the Midwest was a timely decision for members of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit organization established by the White House in 1988.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2026

The city was inundated with middle-class arrivals from the Midwest, especially in the years leading up to the Great Depression.

From "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" by Eric Schlosser