lying toward, situated in, or directed toward the south.
coming from the south, as a wind.
of or relating to the south.
Southern, of or relating to the South of the United States.
Astronomy. Southern, being or located south of the celestial equator or of the zodiac.
a southern constellation.
Often Southern southerner.
Southern, the dialect of English spoken in the eastern parts of Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, in Florida, in the southern parts of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and in southeastern Texas.
situated in or towards the south
(of a wind, etc) coming from the south
native to, inhabiting, or growing in the south
(sometimes capital) astronomy south of the celestial equator
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English sūtherne; see south, -ern
Southern means from the south, like a southern breeze. But if you call a group of people “y’all,” you might be Southern, a word which refers to the American South and usually gets a capital “S” — and a side of hush puppies. A southern breeze happens when wind is moving from the south to the north, and the Southern Hemisphere is south of the equator. When southern refers to the direction, it’s not capitalized; when it's used in the name of specific place, however, it is capitalized. Southern comes from south, which derives from a Germanic word meaning "sun-side."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Investors are also closely watching any disruption to business operations following a major earthquake in the southern Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
TOKYO—It was one of the biggest shopping meccas in the southern Japanese state of Kumamoto, reopened just last month in an area that has seen a recent semiconductor manufacturing boom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
An urgent investigation has been launched into the mysterious deaths of 14 elephants in southern Kenya near the Amboseli National Park.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Several scenes were shot in Messenia and Corinth in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
The shadow of the southern hemisphere is inside the circle and the shadow of the northern hemisphere is outside.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Clayton had been serving as US attorney for the Southern District of New York, overseeing several prominent cases including the drug trafficking case against former Venezuelan president Nicholas Maduro.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Between 2018 and 2022, a client in Southern California who owned commercial and residential real estate applied for several mortgages stating that they would live in the properties.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
FBI agents executed warrants across Southern California on Tuesday and searched the homes or offices of a San Bernardino County supervisor, an Ontario City Council member, a lawyer and a media company.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
It’s not your imagination: This summer has been unusually sticky in Los Angeles, with humidity levels making conditions feel more like the Deep South than Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
The Alps of the Southern Ocean were just as formidable as any mountain range, and they were unmapped.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
