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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

During the December 2022 episode, according to the complaint, a Versova executive placed bids for eggs in the Northwest at a couple of cents above the Urner Barry benchmark price.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026

Behind her, a giant screen advertised Friday's match in this progressive city in the Pacific Northwest, which coincides with Pride Week, an event celebrated here since 1974.

From Barron's • Jun. 27, 2026

The Pacific Northwest, on the other hand, generally gets drier winters.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2026

Meta makes one annual tax payment to Richland Parish that is equivalent to 1% of its purchases, a representative for the Northwest Louisiana Finance Authority said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

Northwest of downtown, in the old Scandinavian neighborhood of Ballard, tugboats belching plumes of black smoke nosed long rafts of logs into the locks that would raise them to the level of Lake Washington.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown