Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Northwest Territory

American  

noun

  1. the region north of the Ohio River, organized by Congress in 1787, comprising present-day Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and the eastern part of Minnesota.


Northwest Territory British  

noun

  1. See Old Northwest

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Masur’s story begins in the Northwest Territory, where the Continental Congress abolished slavery in 1787.

From Washington Post • Apr. 22, 2021

Established in 1787, the Northwest Territory forbade slavery per the federal Northwest Ordinance.

From Washington Times • Feb. 14, 2021

In it, they included a clause outlawing slavery, making the Northwest Territory the largest region in the New World up to that time to have done so.

From New York Times • Sep. 20, 2019

The Land Law of 1800 further encouraged land sales in the Northwest Territory by reducing the minimum parcel size by half and enabling sales on credit, with the goal of stimulating settlement by ordinary farmers.

From Textbooks • Dec. 30, 2014

In 1778 with a picked force of 180 Virginia riflemen, George Rogers Clark captured the great Northwest Territory from the English "in one of the most amazing exploits in American history."

From How Justice Grew: Virginia Counties, An Abstract of Their Formation by Hiden, Martha Woodroof

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Look it up. Learn it forever.

Remember "Northwest Territory" for good with VocabTrainer. Expand your vocabulary effortlessly with personalized learning tools that adapt to your goals.

Take me to Vocabulary.com