Northwest Passage

American  

noun

1. a ship route along the Arctic coast of Canada and Alaska, joining the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

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Northwest Passage British  

noun

1. the passage by sea from the Atlantic to the Pacific along the N coast of America: attempted for over 300 years by Europeans seeking a short route to the Far East, before being successfully navigated by Amundsen (1903–06)

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Northwest Passage Cultural  

1. A sea route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through northwestern America, often sought by early explorers. There is an actual Northwest Passage, but it requires sailing through far northern waters that are icebound much of the year.

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Etymology

Origin of Northwest Passage

First recorded in 1545–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Northwest Passage

The project sits almost 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle and near the Northwest Passage, a nautical sea route through Canada’s polar region that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

Commercial transits through the Northwest Passage hit a record high in 2023 with 13 voyages, according to a tally by the Scott Polar Research Institute at the University of Cambridge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025

Traversing the Northwest Passage would save shippers an estimated two weeks compared with the Panama Canal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025

Alex says that despite the peril of the journey, he has wanted to traverse the Northwest Passage for a long time.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2024

“There’s less and less sea ice every year. Maybe if it gets hot enough, the Northwest Passage will open up and suddenly Canada will be shipping lots of stuff to Russia and Japan.”

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz