south-west

south-west — adverb

1. going or situated in the direction that is between south and west.

1.adverbA2
Definition

going or situated in the direction that is between south and west.

Example

Zuri drove south-west along the coastal road from Cape Town towards the fishing village.

drive + south-west + along + [road] — movement direction

Leo pointed south-west and said the mountain shelter was about two hours away.

point + south-west — indicating direction

Common collocations
  • south-west of
  • drive south-west
  • fly south-west
  • head south-west
  • from the south-west
  • to the south-west
Synonyms
  • southwestwards

    more formal and directional, used mainly in writing ('continue southwestwards for two miles')

  • southwesterly

    functions more often as an adjective; as an adverb it usually describes the direction of wind rather than travel

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

south-west + of + [place]

move/drive/fly + south-west

Usage Note

In British English the hyphenated form 'south-west' is standard; in American English 'southwest' (one word) is more common. This adverb does not take an object.

2. further towards the south-west than another place or thing, used when comparing

2.adverbB1
Definition

further towards the south-west than another place or thing, used when comparing two locations.

Example

The campsite is south-west of the lake, about three kilometres further into the forest.

is + south-west of + [landmark] — relative position

Tanvi's farm lies a few kilometres south-west of the town, closer to the river.

Common collocations
  • south-west of
  • further south-west
  • south-west from
  • lie south-west of
  • situated south-west of
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

south-west + of + [place]

further + south-west + than

Usage Note

This sense often appears with 'of' to show which location is being used as a reference point. Compare with sense 1: sense 1 describes a general direction (e.g. 'drive south-west'), while sense 2 describes where one place sits in relation to another (e.g. 'south-west of the station').

Word family

  • south-western
    adjectiveB1
  • southwest
    adjectiveB1
  • southwestwards
    adverbB2
  • southwesterly
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

'South-west' is the everyday word for movement or location in that compass direction ('We drove south-west'). 'Southwestwards' is a more formal and literary alternative, often used in written directions or travel writing ('The river flows southwestwards to the coast') — it places more emphasis on the path itself. 'Southwesterly' is primarily an adjective ('a southwesterly wind'), but as an adverb it usually describes wind direction rather than a journey. For daily use, 'south-west' is the most natural choice. Example: 'The hikers headed south-west along the ridge' sounds natural; 'The hikers headed southwesterly along the ridge' sounds odd unless referring to wind.

south-west ↗southwestwardssouthwesterly

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • south-west of
  • to the south-west
  • from the south-west
  • in the south-west

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

The word 'south-west' comes from Old English 'sūþwest', a compound of 'sūþ' (south) and 'west' (west). Both elements are ancient Germanic direction words that have remained largely unchanged in meaning for over a thousand years. The hyphenated spelling is standard in British English.