northwest

[ nawrth-west; Nautical nawr-west ]

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.

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

/ 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

northwest

²

/ ˌnɔːθˈwɛst; ˌnɔːˈwɛst /

noun

1. the point of the compass or direction midway between north and west, 315° clockwise from north
2. the northwest
   often capital any area lying in or towards this direction

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

Derived Forms

• ˌnorthˈwesternmost, adjective

Other Words From

• northwestern adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of northwest¹

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

Example Sentences

The storm currently off the northwest coast of the U.S. — described by meteorologists as a “bomb cyclone” — brings with it an atmospheric river.

From Los Angeles Times

Expected to be one of the strongest storms in the northwest US in decades, the bomb cyclone knocked out power and downed trees across the region, on November 20, 2024.

From Salon

The test concluded a little over an hour later after Starship fired up its engines again and completed a controlled ocean landing more than 3,000 miles away off the northwest coast of Australia.

From Los Angeles Times

Wind gusts could bring power outages, downed trees and high surf along the coastline, the US weather agency said, which issued a "high risk excessive rainfall outlook" for northwest California.

From BBC

Parts of northwest California will be under flood and high wind watches starting Tuesday, when persistent rain is expected to begin, dropping 4 to 8 inches over several days.

From Los Angeles Times