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

It’s a lively university town with breweries everywhere, bikes zipping past on nearly every street, and the kind of easy smiles and hellos that make Midwest nice feel real.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

Last spring, the Midwest transplant was hankering to see some wildflowers.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

“You can get heavily discounted deals on every-level EV we have,” said dealership owner Ryan Rohrman, whose 20 Midwest stores include Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Toyota.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

From cranking up the heat in the harsh Midwest winters, to fuelling the driving season, they are heavily exposed to the fluctuating price of fossil fuels.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026

Because of this, factories in the North and the Midwest suffered an immediate and extreme labor shortage.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler