Northwestern

//nɔːθˈwɛstn̩// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A film or other dramatic work set primarily in the late 19th or early 20th century in the northwest of North America.

    "His most recent novels, published as Five Star Westerns, have been Northwesterns: […]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to the northwest; from or to in such a direction.

    "Brittany is located in northwestern France."

  2. 2
    Blowing from that direction.
Adjective
  1. 1
    of a region of the United States generally including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and sometimes Montana, Wyoming wordnet
  2. 2
    situated in or oriented toward the northwest wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
arcticborealeasteasterlyhyperboreannorth

Example

More examples

"Irene Pepperberg, a researcher at Northwestern University, is discovering that a parrot can not only mimic people but also learn the meaning of words."

Etymology

Probably the reflex of Old English *norþwesterne, equivalent to north + western, cognate with or formed similarly to Middle Low German nōrtwestern and Old High German nordwestrōni. Compare earlier northeastern, southeastern, and southwestern.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.