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• northwest
  northwest

  noun

  a point on the compass midway between north and west. NW
• Northwest
  Northwest

  noun

  the northwestern part of England, esp Lancashire and the Lake District

northwest

American  

[nawrth-west, nawr-west] / ˌnɔrθˈwɛst, ˌnɔrˈwɛst /

noun

1. a point on the compass midway between north and west. NW

2. a region in this direction.

3. the Northwest,

   1. the northwestern part of the United States, especially Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

   2. the northwestern part of the United States when its western boundary was the Mississippi River.

   3. the northwestern part of Canada.

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adjective

1. coming from the northwest.

   a northwest wind.

2. directed toward the northwest.

   sailing a northwest course.

adverb

1. from the northwest.

2. toward the northwest.

   sailing northwest.

northwest ¹ British  

/ ˌnɔːθˈwɛst, ˌnɔːˈwɛst /

noun

1. the point of the compass or direction midway between north and west, 315° 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 northwestern part of a specified country, area, etc

   northwest Greenland

adjective

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

Northwest ² British  

/ ˌnɔːθˈwɛst /

noun

1. the northwestern part of England, esp Lancashire and the Lake District

2. the northwestern part of the US, consisting of the states of Washington, Oregon, and sometimes Idaho

3. (in Canada) the region north and west of the Great Lakes

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Other Word Forms

• northwestern
  adjective
• northwesternmost
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of northwest

before 900; Middle English, Old English; see north, west

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

northwest Northwest

Newsom has said building the tunnel, as well the proposed Sites Reservoir northwest of Sacramento, would help the state adapt to worsening droughts with climate change.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The U. S. now operates one base in Greenland, Pituffik Space Base in the island’s northwest, housing roughly 150 troops.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

He added: "They come from all over the UK. We are very close to the northwest of England. But we've seen people travelling from the Midlands, even London as well."

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

Temperatures also reached 49.2 degrees Celsius in Beja in the northwest, and in the south they reached 48.4 degrees Celsius in Tozeur.

From Barron's

She turned onto the main stretch of road and walked to the northwest, away from the river, with the central plaza spread out on her left.

From "Son" by Lois Lowry

Prices for November-delivery cargoes to Northwest Europe have nearly doubled over the same period, rising to $26.94 from $13.86, according to the latest data from Argus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

She was considered a surprise choice, though, to play one of "Hitchcock's blondes", as they were known at the time, in his masterpiece North by Northwest.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Somewhere in the overlap between William Friedkin’s 1977 action thriller “Sorcerer” and Kelly Reichardt’s 2020 Pacific Northwest pioneer indie “First Cow” lies Padraic McKinley’s directorial debut “The Weight.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

We currently live in a relatively low-cost, lower-tax Northwest state.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

One of the most infamous stories of polar exploration is Sir John Franklin’s doomed search for the Northwest Passage.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong