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Pacific Northwest

American  
[puh-sif-ik nawrth-west] / pəˈsɪf ɪk ˌnɔrθˈwɛst /

noun

  1. an imprecisely defined region of North America that is commonly held to include the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho and the Canadian province of British Columbia, with some designations extending the region south into northern California and/or north into Alaska and Yukon: often considered as much a historical, sociocultural region as a geographical one. PNW


Pacific Northwest British  

noun

  1. the region of North America lying north of the Columbia River and west of the Rockies

"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

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Before I relocated to the Pacific Northwest, I had only seen whales and other wildlife common to this region on TV.

From Salon Jul. 22, 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

A dangerous tapeworm that has been spreading across North America has now been detected in the Pacific Northwest, according to new research.

From Science Daily Jun. 11, 2026

An upper level trough across the Pacific Northwest, which has been keeping temperatures cooler, is expected to break down, according to the National Weather Service.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 8, 2026

I have theater-sized posters from the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s productions of Romeo and Juliet and The Sleeping Beauty.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

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