a point on the compass midway between north and west. NW
a region in this direction.
the Northwest,
the northwestern part of the United States, especially Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
the northwestern part of the United States when its western boundary was the Mississippi River.
the northwestern part of Canada.
coming from the northwest.
a northwest wind.
directed toward the northwest.
sailing a northwest course.
from the northwest.
toward the northwest.
sailing northwest.
the point of the compass or direction midway between north and west, 315° clockwise from north
(often capital) any area lying in or towards this direction
the northwestern part of England, esp Lancashire and the Lake District
the northwestern part of the US, consisting of the states of Washington, Oregon, and sometimes Idaho
(in Canada) the region north and west of the Great Lakes
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After reviewing the recordings, Judah confirmed that a goblin shark had indeed been captured on video during a livestreamed dive at an unnamed seamount northwest of Jarvis Island.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 8, 2026
Temperatures are expected to rise in the Santa Clarita Valley, the east and west San Fernando Valley, as well as parts of the San Gabriel Valley and northwest L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
Hot air is expected to spread into southern and central Britain while the northwest will stay cooler due to air flowing off the Atlantic.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Like most inhabitants of the village of Szada, 25 kilometres northwest of Budapest, their home has been without tap water for almost two days.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
“Actually, I’m here because last night I remembered a blue willow grove near the northwest ridge,” Connor said as I emerged from the coop.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
My parents divorced when I was 6, but they lived close enough to each other in the Northwest section of Washington, D.C., that I could bike back and forth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
That also typically brings drier-than-normal conditions farther to the north, like the Pacific Northwest, according to Cohen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
For example, the rupture that caused the 6.8 magnitude Nisqually earthquake in the Pacific Northwest in 2001 started about 32 miles beneath the seafloor.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
Among the tax credit’s other prominent backers are two Northwest Democrats on the Senate Committee on Finance, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Maria Cantwell of Washington.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
The discovery of the Northwest Passage after centuries of searches was truly a historic achievement.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
