southwest
[south-west; Nautical sou-west]
- the point or direction midway between south and west. Abbreviation: SW
- a region in this direction.
- the Southwest, the southwest region of the United States.
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- lying toward, situated in, or directed toward the southwest.
- coming from the southwest, as a wind.
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- in the direction midway between south and west.
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Origin of southwest
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for southwest
Contemporary Examples
AirAsia, on the other hand, is a relatively new carrier, an upstart in the tradition of Southwest Airlines in the United States.
This leaves Southwest, a serious competitor, as the only domestic carrier left able to claim “bags fly free.”
In the Rockies, the number climbs to 26 percent, and in the Southwest, fully a third are on board.
Close to 50,000 unaccompanied Central American minors showed up at the southwest border this year.
Checkpoints like this one and the 33 others along the southwest border are the source of frustration for the towns they occupy.
Historical Examples
It faded soon into a gray fog, with puffs of wind from the southwest again.
MalboneThomas Wentworth Higginson
If the woman was there, if she inhabited the southwest chamber, there might be some sign of her.
Quaint CourtshipsVarious
It is about five hundred feet long, running northeast and southwest.
Buried Cities: Pompeii, Olympia, MycenaeJennie Hall
"Southwest, at about a thousand more elevation," he directed.
Harrison was the hero of the Northwest, as Jackson had been of the Southwest.
The Frontier in American HistoryFrederick Jackson Turner
southwest
- the point of the compass or the direction midway between west and south, 225° clockwise from north
- (often cap usually preceded by the) any area lying in or towards this direction
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- (sometimes capital) of or denoting the southwestern part of a specified country, area, etcsouthwest Italy
- situated in or towards the southwest
- (esp of the wind) from the southwest
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- in, to, towards, or (esp of the wind) from the southwest
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Symbol: SW
Southwest
- the Southwest the southwestern part of Britain, esp Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset
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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
Word Origin and History for southwest
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper