northeast
adjective · noun · adverb
Simple meaning
The compass point midway between north and east.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
nawrtheestSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
nɔɹˈθist
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Situated toward or in the direction of the northeast; northeastward; northeasterly.
Coming from the northeast; northeasterly.
Of, in or pertaining to the northeast; northeastern.
noun
The compass point midway between north and east; at 45 degrees
The intercardinal compass point halfway between north and east; specifically at a bearing of 45°.
us
The northeastern region of the contiguous United States including New England and the Mid-Atlantic states, sometimes inclusive of Maryland, Delaware, Washington, DC, Virginia and West Virginia.
india
The northeastern region of India including Assam and its surrounding states.
US
A place in the United States
uk
One of nine official administrative regions of England, comprising Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham as well as a small part of North Yorkshire.
adverb
To, toward, or in the northeast
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The compass point midway between north and east; at 45 degrees
Used this way, northeast is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use northeast
- “They plan to travel to the Northeast next summer.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The compass point that is one point north of northeast.
The compass point that is one point east of northeast.
The compass point that is midway between north and northeast.
The compass point midway between northeast and east.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
adjective
Sense: situated toward or in the direction of the northeast
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.