southwest
noun
the point or direction midway between south and west. SW
Jump to:
southwest
American
[south-west, sou-west]
/ ˌsaʊθˈwɛst, ˌsaʊˈwɛst /
noun
-
the point or direction midway between south and west. SW
-
a region in this direction.
-
the Southwest, the southwest region of the United States.
adjective
-
lying toward, situated in, or directed toward the southwest.
-
coming from the southwest, as a wind.
adverb
southwest
1
British
/ ˌsaʊˈwɛst, ˌsaʊθˈwɛst /
noun
-
the point of the compass or the direction midway between west and south, 225° clockwise from north
-
any area lying in or towards this direction
adjective
-
(sometimes capital) of or denoting the southwestern part of a specified country, area, etc
southwest Italy
-
situated in or towards the southwest
-
(esp of the wind) from the southwest
adverb
Southwest
2
British
/ ˌsaʊθˈwɛst /
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of southwest
before 900; Middle English; Old English sūthwest. See south, west
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.
An elderly man had just started running a fever when he walked into a birthday party in the small village of Epuyen in southwest Argentina in 2018.
From Barron's • May 7, 2026
Three Woodland Hills residents are competing for the open 3rd District City Council seat in the southwest San Fernando Valley after term limits force out incumbent Bob Blumenfield.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
At a hastily emptied compound 60 miles southwest of Chrey Thom, abandoned suitcases and clothes littered the corridors.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026
"We are the green ribbon that goes around the coast of the southwest," he said.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
But now, at dusk, the plaza was empty and the large building that dominated its southwest border was quiet and seemed unoccupied.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
