northwest

[ nawrth-west; Nautical nawr-west ]

noun

1. a point on the compass midway between north and west. : NW
2. a region in this direction.
3. the Northwest,
   1. the northwestern part of the United States, especially Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
   2. the northwestern part of the United States when its western boundary was the Mississippi River.
   3. the northwestern part of Canada.

adjective

1. coming from the northwest:

   a northwest wind.

2. directed toward the northwest:

   sailing a northwest course.

adverb

1. from the northwest.
2. toward the northwest:

   sailing northwest.

northwest

¹

/ ˌnɔːˈwɛst; ˌnɔːθˈwɛst /

noun

1. the point of the compass or direction midway between north and west, 315° clockwise from north
2. the northwest
   the northwest often capital any area lying in or towards this direction

adjective

1. sometimes capital of or denoting the northwestern part of a specified country, area, etc

   northwest Greenland

adjective

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

Northwest

²

/ ˌnɔːθˈwɛst /

noun

1. the northwestern part of England, esp Lancashire and the Lake District
2. the northwestern part of the US, consisting of the states of Washington, Oregon, and sometimes Idaho
3. (in Canada) the region north and west of the Great Lakes

Derived Forms

• ˌnorthˈwesternmost, adjective

Other Words From

• northwestern adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of northwest¹

before 900; Middle English, Old English; north, west

Example Sentences

Late this afternoon, winds should pick up from the northwest.

From Washington Post

Greene was elected in November to represent a conservative district in northwest Georgia after her opponent Kevin Van Ausdal dropped out, citing personal reasons.

From TechCrunch

Ideally, you want a cold high-pressure system to our north or northwest to help supply and sustain cold air.

From Washington Post

The northwest campus of the University of Washington Medical Center is a short drive from my house.

From MIT Technology Review

The National Weather Service, which has issued a winter storm warning for much of the region, is also calling for four to eight inches of snow close to Washington but six to 12 inches to the north and northwest.

From Washington Post

Still, at least Macklemore sounds like a white guy from the Pacific Northwest.

From The Daily Beast

When, in succession, he made Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and The Birds (1963).

From The Daily Beast

There was a logic to it – many of the wines were from the Pacific Northwest, principally from Oregon and Washington state.

From The Daily Beast

Al Ghabban compared one of these sites, Tayma, in the northwest, to New York City, and another one, Thaj, to Dubai.

From The Daily Beast

The Spanish press reports that she is originally from Galicia in northwest Spain.

From The Daily Beast

Now, the whole Northwest groaned beneath a cast-iron prohibition law at that time, and for some years thereafter.

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

He came nearly doing it, and for a day McNeil was in doubt as to which way he had gone—to the northwest or the north.

From Project Gutenberg

Harry rode to the northwest, for he knew it was in that direction Poindexter was rallying his forces.

From Project Gutenberg

That is not the case with the one that extends northwest and southeast, for it is flooded with sunlight most of the day.

From Project Gutenberg