The intercardinal compass point halfway between west and north; specifically at a bearing of 315°.
northwest
Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for northwest.
Editorial note
Basically every natural feature in the Pacific Northwest has some exotic way of killing you.
Quick take
The intercardinal compass point halfway between west and north; specifically at a bearing of 315°.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of northwest gathered in one view.
Situated toward or in the direction of the northwest; northwestward; northwesterly.
Coming from the northwest; northwesterly.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for northwest.
noun
The intercardinal compass point halfway between west and north; specifically at a bearing of 315°.
See also: north, northwestern, northwesterly
adjective
Situated toward or in the direction of the northwest; northwestward; northwesterly.
See also: north, northwestern, northwesterly
adjective
Coming from the northwest; northwesterly.
See also: north, northwestern, northwesterly
adjective
Of, in or pertaining to the northwest; northwestern.
See also: north, northwestern, northwesterly
Example sentences
Basically every natural feature in the Pacific Northwest has some exotic way of killing you.
He made headlines all over the pacific northwest because he totally stymied the medical examiner with the cause of his death.
I've been stranded in Detroit back in the Northwest Airlines days when aircrews hadn't showed up to work.
In times like these—the northwest falling into the ocean or whatever—it's unimaginable to think about the sheer amount of data loss that could occur.
I’m too young to remember what the northwest was like before things like wildfire control threw everything out of balance.
The Pacific Northwest sits squarely within the Ring of Fire.
See the Northwest Airlines Supreme Court case.
The whole green area of the chart (75 mSv) plus taking a dose at the northwest edge of the Fukushima exclusion zone puts you 19 mSv over the limit.
A significant quake in one city in the region 14 years ago doesn't invalidate the claim that you could spend a significant time in the northwest without feeling a tremor.
I love northwest Montana - but I've never seen Helena.
There is a section of I94 northwest of the Twin Cities that has three segments of highway, and traffic can be diverted onto one of the segments to test new road surfaces.
So whatever experiences you may have about German culture from Germany (and even Germany is a very different place in the Northwest vs the more conservative South vs the old East vs Berlin), Swiss Germans are something else.
Quote examples
You can spend a lifetime in many parts of the Northwest—several, in fact, if you had them to spend—and not feel so much as a quiver." This is total crap.
The Tlingit of the Northwest also had a complicated system of property rights, including something akin to what we call "intellectual property" (though there were significant differences to our system).
For example, "the Pacific Northwest’s largest population centers and ports, including Portland (OR), Seattle and Tacoma (WA), and Vancouver (BC), are not expected to experience any significant tsunami impacts."
(Let me add Minneapolis to your list.) The Midwest gets a lot of bad press on the Coasts ("flyover country") but what's missed is that if you control for urban-versus-rural or for density, it's probably the most educated and liberal part of the country (perhaps tied with the Pacific Northwest).
Proper noun examples
They are contrasting what they describe as weekly small quakes in Japan with long periods of inactivity in the Pacific Northwest.
The sound of rain is very familiar to us living west of the Cascades in the Pacific Northwest.
Southern New Jersey's Pine Barrens are a case in point, as is the Delaware Water Gap area in the state's Northwest.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use northwest in a sentence?
Basically every natural feature in the Pacific Northwest has some exotic way of killing you.
What does northwest mean?
The intercardinal compass point halfway between west and north; specifically at a bearing of 315°.
What part of speech is northwest?
northwest is commonly used as noun, adjective.