Northwest Passage

proper noun

The sea route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, between the Baffin Bay and the Beaufort Sea.

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Meanings

proper nounthe Northwest Passage
  1. geographyThe sea route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans, between the Baffin Bay and the Beaufort Sea.

    Ah, for just one time / I would take the Northwest Passage / To find the hand of Franklin / Reaching for the Beaufort Sea

    1981, Stan Rogers, “Northwest Passage”, in Northwest Passage, Fogarty's Cove Music, →OCLC
    1 more example

    The dream of a Northwest Passage lured European explorers for centuries with the promise of a quick, if hazardous, Arctic sea route across the New World to the wealth of Asia.

    1989 May, Jeff MacInnis, “Braving the Northwest Passage”, in National Geographic, volume 175, number 5, page 586

Translations

Catalan pas del Nord-oest
  • pas del Nord-oestSea route connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean
Dutch Noordwestelijke Doorvaart
  • Noordwestelijke DoorvaartSea route connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean
Finnish Luoteisväylä
  • LuoteisväyläSea route connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean
French passage du Nord-Ouest
  • passage du Nord-OuestSea route connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean
German Nordwestpassage
  • NordwestpassageSea route connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean
Irish Pasáiste Siar ó Thuaidh
  • Pasáiste Siar ó ThuaidhSea route connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean
Korean 북서항로
  • 북서항로 (bukseohangno)Sea route connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean
Welsh y Dramwyfa'r Gogledd-Orllewin
  • y Dramwyfa'r Gogledd-OrllewinSea route connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean
Cite this entry
APA

Northwest Passage. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Northwest%20Passage

MLA

“Northwest Passage.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Northwest%20Passage. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Northwest Passage,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Northwest%20Passage.

Source: Northwest Passage on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.