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• Midwestern
  Midwestern

  adjective

  of or relating to the Midwest.
• midwestern
  midwestern

  adjective

  of or relating to the Midwest of the US or its inhabitants

Midwestern

American  

[mid-wes-tern] / ˌmɪdˈwɛs tərn /

Rarely Middle Western

adjective

1. of or relating to the Midwest.

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midwestern British  

/ ˈmɪdˈwɛstən /

adjective

1. of or relating to the Midwest of the US or its inhabitants

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Usage

What does Midwestern mean? Midwestern is an adjective used to describe the region known as the Midwest—the northern central area of the mainland United States. Generally, the boundaries of the Midwestern region 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 Midwestern. Sometimes, states on the fringes, such as Ohio or North Dakota, aren’t considered to be a part of the Midwest. The word Midwestern is commonly used to describe the region and states in that region, but it can also describe the people who live there or things about them, as in Midwestern values. A person from the Midwest can be called a Midwesterner. Example: I always love to travel to the central United States to see the beautiful scenery of the Midwestern states.

Etymology

Origin of Midwestern

An Americanism first recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Midwestern midwestern

Also known as grabblers or hand-fishermen, noodlers use their own bare limbs as bait to catch enormous flathead catfish lurking in Southern and Midwestern rivers, creeks, and lakes.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

In alternating, time-traveling, distinctly voiced chapters, the four quirky members of a modern Midwestern family spin on the tilted axis of Barbara, their dementia-impaired matriarch.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

But in a Midwestern city like St. Louis, prices over that time period have only gone up about 6% when adjusted for inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

French influence also extends up the Midwestern river systems to Canada.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

The taxis bringing the evening’s first customers, Midwestern tourists and conventioneers, made slight splashing sounds in the cold dusk.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

When Jennifer Arnold learned one of her neighbors in the midwestern city of Minneapolis had been arrested by immigration authorities late last year, she reached out to lend a hand.

From Barron's ● Jan. 10, 2026

Striking workers in the midwestern states of Missouri and Illinois had walked off the job on August 4.

From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025

Walz is a high-school teacher turned politician with a penchant for folksy midwestern humour.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2024

At first glance Springfield looks like a typical small midwestern city.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2024

Though faithful to their religion, the Grossingers were midwestern Jews, low-key and assimilationist.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides