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• northeast
  northeast

  noun

  a point on the compass midway between north and east. NE
• Northeast
  Northeast

  noun

  the northeastern part of England, esp Northumberland, Durham, and the Tyneside area

northeast

American  

[nawrth-eest, nawr-eest] / ˌnɔrθˈist, ˌnɔrˈist /

noun

1. a point on the compass midway between north and east. NE

2. a region in this direction.

3. the Northeast, the northeastern part of the United States.

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adverb

1. toward or in the northeast.

   sailing northeast.

adjective

1. coming from the northeast.

   a northeast wind.

2. directed toward the northeast.

   a northeast course.

northeast ¹ British  

/ ˌnɔːθˈiːst, ˌnɔːrˈiːst /

noun

1. the point of the compass or direction midway between north and east, 45° clockwise from north

2. (often capital) any area lying in or towards this direction

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adjective

1. (sometimes capital) of or denoting the northeastern part of a specified country, area, etc

   northeast Lincolnshire

2. situated in, proceeding towards, or facing the northeast

3. (esp of the wind) from the northeast

adverb

1. in, to, towards, or (esp of the wind) from the northeast

Northeast ² British  

/ ˌnɔːθˈiːst /

noun

1. the northeastern part of England, esp Northumberland, Durham, and the Tyneside area

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Other Word Forms

• northeastern
  adjective
• northeasternmost
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of northeast

before 950; Middle English, Old English; see north, east

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

northeast Northeast

But with humidity levels about to drop and temperatures soar across Spain, hitting 42C in the northeast and 39C in the centre according to meteorological agency AEMET, firefighters have only a small window of opportunity.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

Today, the chef, a native of France, is working long days at a foie gras farm in northeast China trying to nail the perfect, mouthwatering flavor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

Once home to mostly working-class Latino families, neighborhoods along the river in northeast L.A. have seen home prices surge for years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026

Operators of a new $53.8 million development in northeast Portland, built with the tax credit and the local housing bond, had trouble filling studio and one-bedroom apartments whose affordable rents were near market rate.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

When he was thirteen, he’d moved to Tilburg, a town about thirty miles northeast of Zundert, to attend the public King Willem II secondary school.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

With wildfires in Canada raising air-quality concerns in the Northeast and Midwest on Thursday, the New York Mets’ game at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia was moved up an hour.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

Strong winds swept plumes of smoke across the Great Lakes and into the Northeast.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

US states near the Canadian border including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois were particularly choked, as the Northeast including New York was also experiencing deteriorating air quality.

From Barron's ● Jul. 16, 2026

"Above average temperatures and dangerous levels of heat are forecast to enter the Northeast on Tuesday before the most intense heat occurs on Wednesday and expands into the Mid-Atlantic," said the US National Weather Service.

From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026

They toured the southern states early in the year, performed at cities in the Midwest and Northeast during the spring and summer, and also had invitations from Canada and the West Coast.

From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman