southwest
/saʊθˈwɛst/noun, adjective, adverb
southwest is spelled S-O-U-T-H-W-E-S-T: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 6,047th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, southwest means “The intercardinal compass point halfway between south and west; specifically at a bearing of 225°” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of southwest is southwests.
How many letters and syllables are in southwest?
| Letters | 9: S-O-U-T-H-W-E-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 6,047th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is southwest?
Southwest appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 6,047th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce southwest?
- /saʊθˈwɛst/
- British /sawθˈwɛst/
- /saʊˈwɛst/
Southwest has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-southwest.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-southwest.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with southwest
Also written: sou'-west, south-west (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of southwest
- southwests plural
- south-west UK
- sou'-west
- more southwest comparative
- most southwest superlative
- further southwest comparative
- farther southwest comparative
- furthest southwest superlative
- farthest southwest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does southwest mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The intercardinal compass point halfway between south and west; specifically at a bearing of 225°.
adjective
- 1
Of, in or pertaining to the southwest; southwestern.
- 2
Situated toward or in the direction of the southwest; southwestward; southwesterly.
A southwest course.
- 3
Coming from the southwest; southwesterly.
A southwest wind.
adverb
- 1
Towards or in the direction of the southwest; southwestwards.
We are travelling southwest at the moment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate southwest?
Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of southwest: SW, Sw., sw..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Southwest in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense compass point:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sud-ouest |
| German | Südwesten |
| Portuguese | sudoeste |
| Spanish | sudoeste, suroeste, sudueste, sudoccidente, suroccidente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does southwest come from?
From Middle English southwest, southewest, from Old English sūþwest and sūþanwestan, equivalent to south + west. Cognate with West Frisian súdwest, Dutch zuidwest, German Südwesten, Danish sydvest, Swedish sydväst.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).