midwest

M3I1D2W4E1S1T1
Canada, US, UK/mɪdˈwɛst/Inland Northern American[mɪdˈwɐst]Australia/mɪdˈwest/New Zealand/mədˈwest/

proper noun

The area of the contiguous United States contained in the central third of the country, especially the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, sometimes inclusive of Missouri and Kentucky.

CommonScrabble 13

Meanings

midwest1

proper noun
  1. alternativeAlternative spelling of Midwest.

Midwest2

proper nounthe Midwest

alternative midwest

  1. The area of the contiguous United States contained in the central third of the country, especially the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, sometimes inclusive of Missouri and Kentucky.

    Many of the dynamics today in West Virginia would be familiar in old industrial towns in the Northeast, or in rural communities across the Midwest.

    2021 February 8, Emily Badger, “West Virginia Has Everyone’s Attention. What Does It Really Need?”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 18 Apr 2021

    Synonyms: Middle West

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounThe area of the contiguous United States contained in the central third of the country, especially the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, sometimes inclusive of Missouri and Kentucky.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*me
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*médʰi
  4. Proto-Indo-European*médʰyos
  5. Proto-Germanic*midjaz
  6. Proto-West Germanic*midi
  7. Old Englishmidd
  8. Middle Englishmid
  9. Englishmid
  10. Englishmid-
  11. EnglishWest
  12. EnglishMidwest

From mid- + West.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan Oest Mitjà
  • Oest Mitjàarea of the United States
French mi-ouest
  • mi-ouestarea of the United States
German Mittlerer Westen
  • Mittlerer Westenarea of the United States
Hebrew הַמַּעֲרָב הַתִּיכוֹן
  • הַמַּעֲרָב הַתִּיכוֹן (hama'aráv hatichón)area of the United States
Irish an tIarthar Láir
  • an tIarthar Láirarea of the United States
Russian Средний Запад
  • Средний Запад (Srednij Zapad)area of the United States
Spanish medio oeste
  • medio oestearea of the United States
Vietnamese Trung Tây
  • Trung Tâyarea of the United States

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

midwest. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midwest

MLA

“midwest.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midwest. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “midwest,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midwest.

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