southeast

S1O1U1T1H4E1A1S1T1
British, Southern, Standard/sawˈθɪjst/

noun

The intercardinal compass point halfway between east and south; specifically at a bearing of 135°.

“A southeast wind.”

Opposite
CommonScrabble 12

Meanings

southeast1

nounsoutheast (plural southeasts)

plural southeasts · alternative UK south-east · alternative sou'-east · alternative abbreviation SE

  1. The intercardinal compass point halfway between east and south; specifically at a bearing of 135°.

    Antonyms: northwest

adjectivesoutheast (not generally comparable, comparative more southeast, superlative most southeast)

comparative more southeast · superlative most southeast · alternative UK south-east · alternative sou'-east · alternative abbreviation SE

  1. not comparableusuallyOf, in or pertaining to the southeast; southeastern.

    The first rocket exploded on the southeast camp fire perimeter, and the second dropped in to the northwest, a few hundred meters from the center of the workforce complex.

    2014, Robert Barr, For the Love of Flight, Dorrance Publishing, →ISBN, page 61
    1 more example

    On the north side of town, there’s a golf course Colstrip residents can use for free. Castle Rock Lake, just west of town, attracts residents from across southeast Montana.

    2020 February 20, Amanda Garant, “Colstrip, Montana: Family Town, First. Company Town, Second.”, in Eastern Montana Land & Home, archived from the original on 03 Dec 2020
  2. not comparableusuallySituated toward or in the direction of the southeast; southeastward; southeasterly.

    A southeast course.

  3. not comparableusuallyComing from the southeast; southeasterly.

    A southeast wind.

adverbsoutheast (not generally comparable, comparative further southeast or farther southeast, superlative furthest southeast or farthest southeast)

comparative further southeast · comparative farther southeast · superlative furthest southeast · superlative farthest southeast · alternative UK south-east · alternative sou'-east · alternative abbreviation SE

  1. not comparableusuallyTowards or in the direction of the southeast; southeastwards.

    Valencia is southeast of Madrid.

    1 more example

    We are travelling southeast at the moment.

Southeast2

proper nounthe Southeast
  1. Any of various particular regions named for the cardinal direction in which they lie.
    1. USThe southeastern region of the contiguous United States.
proper noun
  1. Other places in the United States (without "the"):
    1. The south-eastern quadrant in Washington, D.C.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe intercardinal compass point halfway between east and south; specifically at a bearing of 135°.

Opposite

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivecoming from the southeast

adjectivesituated in or oriented toward the southeast

nounthe compass point midway between south and east; at 135 degrees

adverbto, toward, or in the southeast

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

southeast · noun, adjective, adverb

  1. Old Englishsūþēast
  2. Middle Englishsouthest
  3. Englishsoutheast

From Middle English southest, from Old English sūþēast, equivalent to south + east.

Full word history & related roots →

Southeast · proper noun, proper noun

By proprialization from southeast.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque hego-sortalde, hego-ekialde
  • hego-sortaldecompass point
  • hego-ekialdecompass point
Bulgarian югои́зток
  • югои́зток (jugoíztok)compass point
Catalan sud-est
  • sud-estcompass point
Chinese Mandarin 東南 /东南
  • 東南 /东南 (dōngnán)compass point
Czech jihovýchod
  • jihovýchodcompass point
Danish sydøst
  • sydøstcompass point
Dutch zuidoosten
  • zuidoostencompass point
Esperanto sudoriento, sudeosto
  • sudorientocompass point
  • sudeostocompass point
Estonian kagu
  • kagucompass point
Finnish kaakko
  • kaakkocompass point
French sud-est
  • sud-estcompass point
German Südosten
  • Südostencompass point
Greek νοτιοανατολικά
  • νοτιοανατολικά (notioanatoliká)compass point
Hindi दक्षिणपूर्व
  • दक्षिणपूर्व (dakṣiṇpūrv)compass point
Hungarian délkelet
  • délkeletcompass point
Icelandic suðaustur, landsuður
  • suðausturcompass point
  • landsuðurcompass point
Indonesian tenggara
  • tenggaracompass point
Italian sudest
  • sudestcompass point
Japanese 南東, 東南
  • 南東 (nantō)compass point
  • 東南 (tōnan)compass point
  • 辰巳 (tatsumi)compass point
  • 巽 (tatsumi)compass point
Korean 동남, 남동
  • 동남 (dongnam)compass point
  • 남동 (namdong)compass point
Latvian dienvidaustrumi
  • dienvidaustrumicompass point
Lithuanian pietryčių
  • pietryčiųcompass point
Malay tenggara
  • tenggaracompass point
Māori tonga-mā-rāwhiti
  • tonga-mā-rāwhiticompass point
Norwegian Bokmål sørøst
  • sørøstcompass point
Persian جنوب شرقی
  • جنوب شرقی (jonub-e šarqi)compass point
Polish południowy wschód
  • południowy wschódcompass point
Portuguese sudeste
  • sudestecompass point
Romanian sud-est
  • sud-estcompass point
Russian ю́го-восто́к, зюйд-о́ст
  • ю́го-восто́к (júgo-vostók)compass point
  • зюйд-о́ст (zjujd-óst)compass point
Slovak juhovýchod
  • juhovýchodcompass point
Spanish sudeste, sureste
  • sudestecompass point
  • surestecompass point
  • suestecompass point
  • sudorientecompass point
  • surorientecompass point
Swahili kusini-mashariki
  • kusini-masharikicompass point
Swedish sydost, sydöst
  • sydostcompass point
  • sydöstcompass point
Tamil தென்கிழக்கு
  • தென்கிழக்கு (teṉkiḻakku)compass point
Thai ตะวันออกเฉียงใต้, อาคเนย์
  • ตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ (dtà-wan-ɔ̀ɔk-chǐiang-dtâai)compass point
  • อาคเนย์ (aa-ká-nee)compass point
Turkish güneydoğu
  • güneydoğucompass point
Ukrainian півде́нний схід, зюйд-о́ст
  • півде́нний схід (pivdénnyj sxid)compass point
  • зюйд-о́ст (zjujd-óst)compass point
Vietnamese phía đông nam, hướng đông nam
  • phía đông namcompass point
  • hướng đông namcompass point
  • đông namcompass point
Welsh de-ddwyrain
  • de-ddwyraincompass point
Cite this entry
APA

southeast. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/southeast

MLA

“southeast.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/southeast. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “southeast,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/southeast.

Source: southeast on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.