northwest

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The direction or point on the mariner's compass halfway between due north and due west, or 45° west of due north.
• noun An area or region lying in the northwest.
• noun A historical region of the north-central United States west of the Mississippi River and north of the Missouri River.
• noun A region of the northwest United States, generally including Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
• adjective To, toward, of, facing, or in the northwest.
• adjective Originating in or coming from the northwest.
• adverb In, from, or toward the northwest.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To or from the northwest.
• noun That point on the horizon which lies between the north and west and is equidistant from them.
• noun With the definite article, a region or locality lying in the northwestern part of a country, etc., or in a direction bearing northwest from some point or place indicated; specifically , in the United States, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, etc.
• Pertaining to the point or being in the direction between the north and west; northwesterly.
• Proceeding from the northwest: as, a northwest wind. Abbreviated N. W.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The point in the horizon between the north and west, and equally distant from each; the northwest part or region.
• noun U.S. The northwestern part of the contiguous forty-eight states of the United States, especially the states of Washington and Oregon.
• adverb Toward the northwest.
• adjective Pertaining to, or in the direction of, the point between the north and west; being in the northwest; toward the northwest, or coming from the northwest.
• adjective Coming from the northwest.
• adjective a passage or communication by sea between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans along the north coast of America, long sought for by navigators.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun The compass point halfway between north and west, bearing 315°, abbreviated as NW.
• adjective Towards the northwest, northwestwards, northwestern

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun the northwestern region of the United States
• adjective coming from the northwest
• adjective situated in or oriented toward the northwest
• noun a location in the northwestern part of a country, region, or city
• adverb to, toward, or in the northwest
• noun the direction corresponding to the northwestward compass point
• noun the compass point midway between north and west; at 315 degrees