northern

American  

[nawr-thern] / ˈnɔr ðərn /

adjective

1. lying toward or situated in the north.

2. directed or proceeding northward.

3. coming from the north, as a wind.

4. Often Northern of or relating to the North, especially the northern United States.

5. Astronomy. north of the celestial equator or of the zodiac.

   a northern constellation.

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noun

1. a person living in a northern region or country.

2. Northern, a steam locomotive having a four-wheeled front truck, eight driving wheels, and a four-wheeled rear truck.

northern British  

/ ˈnɔːðən /

adjective

1. situated in or towards the north

   northern towns

2. directed or proceeding towards the north

   a northern flow of traffic

3. (esp of winds) proceeding from the north

4. (sometimes capital) of, relating to, or characteristic of the north or North

5. (sometimes capital) astronomy north of the celestial equator

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Other Word Forms

• northernness
  noun
• pro-Northern
  adjective
• unnorthern
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of northern

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; see north, -ern

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

northern

We could see a few midweek showers especially near coasts in south-east England and East Anglia, as well as northern Scotland.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

Near the base of a column atop which Saint Simeon Stylites once perched, scattered stones lay bare the damage inflicted on the surrounding Byzantine monastery in northern Syria by war, looting and rampant illegal excavations.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

Monday’s march to the Parliament was set to be led by 59-year-old activist Sonam Wangchuk, who has led protests in the past in support for more rights for his home region in northern India.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

He was charged with corruptly concealing a document or record, one of the nine people convicted in the prosecution following last year’s noise demonstration at the Prairieland Detention Center near Dallas in northern Texas.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

By the time Equiano published his book, slave ships had carried more than 160,000 Africans to America’s Chesapeake colonies, 140,000 to the Carolinas and Georgia, and 30,000 to the northern colonies.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis