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• southwest
  southwest

  noun

  the point or direction midway between south and west. SW
• Southwest
  Southwest

  noun

  the southwestern part of Britain, esp Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset

southwest

American  

[south-west, sou-west] / ˌsaʊθˈwɛst, ˌsaʊˈwɛst /

noun

1. the point or direction midway between south and west. SW

2. a region in this direction.

3. the Southwest, the southwest region of the United States.

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adjective

1. lying toward, situated in, or directed toward the southwest.

2. coming from the southwest, as a wind.

adverb

1. in the direction midway between south and west.

southwest ¹ British  

/ ˌsaʊˈwɛst, ˌsaʊθˈwɛst /

noun

1. the point of the compass or the direction midway between west and south, 225° clockwise from north

2. any area lying in or towards this direction

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adjective

1. (sometimes capital) of or denoting the southwestern part of a specified country, area, etc

   southwest Italy

2. situated in or towards the southwest

3. (esp of the wind) from the southwest

adverb

1. in, to, towards, or (esp of the wind) from the southwest

Southwest ² British  

/ ˌsaʊθˈwɛst /

noun

1. the southwestern part of Britain, esp Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset

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Other Word Forms

• southwestern
  adjective
• southwesternmost
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of southwest

before 900; Middle English; Old English sūthwest. See south, west

Example Sentences

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

The 1st District stretches from Highland Park on the northeast to University Park on the southwest.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

Another striking feature is a long, faint tail of emission stretching toward the southwest.

From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026

Instead of fleeing north, as thousands of enslaved African-Americans would do in the 19th century, he headed southwest toward North Carolina.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Blowing from the southwest, the trades push the warm surface waters northeast, pulling frigid water from the deep offshore trench to the surface.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann