Advertisement

Advertisement

Northwest Passage

noun

  1. a ship route along the Arctic coast of Canada and Alaska, joining the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.


Northwest Passage

noun

  1. the passage by sea from the Atlantic to the Pacific along the N coast of America: attempted for over 300 years by Europeans seeking a short route to the Far East, before being successfully navigated by Amundsen (1903–06)
“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


Northwest Passage

  1. A sea route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through northwestern America, often sought by early explorers. There is an actual Northwest Passage, but it requires sailing through far northern waters that are icebound much of the year.


Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of Northwest Passage1

First recorded in 1545–55
Discover More

Example Sentences

As a result, the British clamored to explore the north, rekindling that long-held dream of finding a Northwest Passage.

Henry Hudson sailed from Gravesend on his first voyage for the discovery of a northwest passage to India.

Martin Frobisher was despatched with three pinnaces to discover a northwest passage, but compelled by the ice to return.

He has given us to see the northwest passage forced, and winter bearded on his everlasting throne, by another.

Some went back to report that there was no Northwest Passage, and others were lost among the ice-floes and never returned.

Hudson's achievement added to his fame, and he was once more sent in search of the northwest passage.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


Northwest OrdinanceNorthwest Territories