southward

American  

[south-werd, suhth-erd] / ˈsaʊθ wərd, ˈsʌð ərd /

adjective

1. moving, bearing, facing, or situated toward the south.

2. coming from the south, as a wind.

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adverb

1. Also southwards. toward the south; south.

noun

1. the southward part, direction, or point.

southward British  

/ ˈsaʊθwəd, ˈsʌðəd /

adjective

1. situated, directed, or moving towards the south

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noun

1. the southward part, direction, etc; the south

adverb

1. a variant of southwards

Other Word Forms

• southwardly adjective

Etymology

Origin of southward

before 900; Middle English; Old English sūth weard. See south, -ward

Example Sentences

“The presence of these fossils in Colorado suggests that archaic primates originated in the north and then spread southward, diversifying soon after the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period,” adds Dr. Chester.

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026

It was in November that a disturbance first knocked cold air southward and “sent weather patterns into a tailspin this season,” meteorologist Ben Noll wrote to me in an email.

From Slate • Feb. 25, 2026

That year, the Federal Reserve sharply hiked interest rates, sending both stock and bond prices southward at once.

From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026

Elsewhere on New Year's Day cloud and rain will clear southward leaving a lot of dry and sunny weather.

From BBC • Jan. 1, 2026

The historical southward expansions of Burmese, Laotians, and Thais from South China completed the Sinification of tropical Southeast Asia.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond