southward
gb/sˈaʊθwɚd/ us/sˈaʊθwɚd/
B2
English
Senses
0 senses
adverb
B2
relation
1
toward the south
toward the south
Usage pattern:
move/head/travel [southward]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse the adverb (move southward) with the adjective (a southward journey).
Synonyms
south (More common and shorter; used the same way in many contexts.)
|
to the south (A phrase, often clearer in writing than the single word.)
Antonyms
northward (Toward the north.)
Collocations
move southward
|head southward
|travel southward
|drive southward
|drift southward
|push southward
|spread southward
|extend southward
|migrate southward
|march southward
Themes
directions
|travel
|geography
Examples
- As the storm approached, the winds shifted and blew southward.
- We drove southward for three hours before we reached the coast.
- The flock drifted southward as the temperature dropped.
Learner examples
- The birds fly southward in winter.
- We walked southward to the river.
adjective
B2
property
2
going toward the south
going toward the south
Usage pattern:
[a/the] southward [journey/route/movement/flow]
Common mistake:
Do not use southward to mean 'in the south' (use southern or in the south).
Synonyms
southbound (Often used for transport (a southbound train/bus) and sounds slightly more fixed.)
|
southerly (More common for winds or directions (a southerly wind) and can mean 'from the south.')
Antonyms
northward (Directed toward the north.)
|
northbound (Often used for transport going north.)
Collocations
southward journey
|southward route
|southward movement
|southward expansion
|southward shift
|southward flow
|southward trend
|southward migration
|southward current
|southward trajectory
Themes
directions
|travel
|geography
Examples
- They took a southward route to avoid the mountain roads.
- A southward flow of cold air is expected overnight.
- The whales began their southward migration in early autumn.
Learner examples
- We planned a southward trip.
- This road is the southward route.
Noun
formal
C1
entity
3
the direction toward the south
the direction toward the south
Usage pattern:
to the southward (of) [place]
Common mistake:
This noun use is uncommon in everyday speech; most people say 'the south' or 'to the south.'
Synonyms
the south (Much more common in modern everyday English.)
|
southern direction (More explicit and modern-sounding.)
Antonyms
the north (The opposite direction/area.)
Collocations
to the southward
|far to the southward
|a change to the southward
|the southward of [place]
Themes
directions
|geography
|nautical
Examples
- The island lies some miles to the southward of the mainland.
- The ship kept to the southward to avoid the worst of the ice.
- Clouds gathered to the southward by late afternoon.
Grammar
Dictionary form
southward
IPA
GB/sˈaʊθwɚd/
US/sˈaʊθwɚd/
Syllables & stress
south - ward (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (south)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: southward
Expressions
southward bound
1/sˈaʊθwɚd bˈaʊnd/
fixed phrase
traveling toward the south
going south
Examples
- We boarded a southward bound train just after noon.
- By September, many birds are southward bound.
- The convoy turned and became southward bound at dawn.
to the southward
1/tə ðə sˈaʊθwɚd/
fixed phrase
formal
to the south of
to the south of a place
Examples
- The lighthouse is to the southward of the harbor entrance.
- A line of showers developed to the southward by evening.
- They steered to the southward to avoid rough seas.