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.
- lying toward, situated in, or directed toward the southwest.
- coming from the southwest, as a wind.
- in the direction midway between south and west.
Origin of southwest
before 900; Middle English; Old English sūthwest. See
south,
west Related formssouth·west·ern, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for southwestern
Contemporary Examples of southwestern
Virtually all the southwestern gangs of Mexican heritage (Surenos or Southsiders) are under their control.
Languishing in a prison cell in southwestern Iranian city of Ahvaz, 21-year-old Razie Ebrahimi awaits her date with the gallows.
Nestled here, in the southwestern corner of the compound, is a heap of crumbling concrete.
President Xi Jinping joked that the air in Guizhou, a southwestern province, was so pure that it should be put up for sale.
The Gigafactory would be built somewhere in the southwestern U.S., and could employ up to 6,500 people.
Historical Examples of southwestern
The Striped Racer of the southwestern states is very long and slender.
The southwestern corner of Wisconsin is a geologic curiosity.
On the southwestern tip of the reef they discovered a possible opening.
Nĕs' tor—the leader of the warriors of Pylos, in southwestern Greece.
Py' los—a town (and bay) in the southwestern part of lower Greece.
British Dictionary definitions for southwestern- 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
adjective Also: southwestern- (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
- in, to, towards, or (esp of the wind) from the southwest
Symbol: SW
Derived Formssouthwesternmost, adjective- the Southwest the southwestern part of Britain, esp Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset
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 southwesternadj.Old English suðwesterne; see southwest + -ern. In reference to a section of the U.S., from 1806, when it meant "Mississippi and Alabama."
adv.Old English suð-west; see south + west. As a noun from early 12c. Related: Southwester; southwesterly.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
