Meaning of south in English

south

(also South)

/saʊθ/ uk

/saʊθ/

(written abbreviation S.); (UK also Sth); (US also So.)

the direction that goes toward the part of the earth below the equator, opposite to the north, or the part of an area or country that is in this direction:

The points of the compass are north, south, east, and west.

The best beaches are in the south (of the island).

We usually spend our vacations in the south of France.

Canberra is/lies to the south of Sydney.

the South

the southern states of the U.S:

The American Civil War was fought between the North and the South partly over the issue of slavery.

the developing countries of the world, most of which are below the equator

See also

the Third World old-fashioned

More examplesFewer examples

A forest fire raging in the south of France is defying all attempts to control it.
They reported a sudden outbreak of the disease in the south of the country.
The south of the country enjoys an equable climate.
They live in the extreme south of the island.
The Nationalist Party have gained a lot of support in the south of the country.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Points of the compass

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Towns & regions: parts of countries

Towns & regions: named regions of countries

Countries, nationalities & continents: continents & regions of the world

Grammar

East or eastern; north or northern?

…

south

adjective

(also South)

/saʊθ/ uk

/saʊθ/

(written abbreviation S.); (UK also Sth); (US also So)

in or forming the south part of something:

South Africa

the South China Sea

These plants grow well on a south-facing wall.

south wind

a wind coming from the south

More examplesFewer examples

There are at least 20 distinguishable dialects of the language just on the south island.
Despite being heavily outgunned, the rebel forces seem to have held on to the south side of the city.
He was last heard of living somewhere on the south coast.
We spent the entire vacation lying on the sun-drenched beaches at the south end of the island.
Thousands of day trippers flock to resorts on the south coast.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Points of the compass

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Wind & winds

Grammar

East or eastern; north or northern?

…

south

adverb

(also South)

/saʊθ/ uk

/saʊθ/

(written abbreviation S.); (UK also Sth); (US also So.)

toward the south:

The Mississippi river flows south.

They drove south toward the coast.

He traveled due (= directly) south, toward the desert.

down south

to or in the south of a country or region:

Alice got a job down south.

south of the border

(in or to) Mexico and the other countries south of the U.S. border with Mexico, when considered in relation to the U.S.

(in or to) England, when considered in relation to Scotland

More examplesFewer examples

Migrating birds make use of airstreams to assist them on their long trip south.
We'll drive east for a few more miles, then turn south.
The terrace faces south.
As you go further south, you will notice a gradual change of climate.
We're going to stop off in Paris for a couple of days before heading south.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Points of the compass

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Towns & regions: named regions of countries

Countries, nationalities & continents: continents & regions of the world

Countries, nationalities & continents: country & nation

Grammar

East or eastern; north or northern?

…

Idiom

go south

(Definition of south from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

south | Intermediate English

south

noun [ U ]

/sɑʊθ/

(abbreviation S.); (abbreviation So.)

Add to word list Add to word list

the direction opposite north, or the part of an area or country in this direction:

The points of the compass are north, south, east, and west.

In the US, the South is the southeastern part of the country:

We moved to the South when I was a child.

US history

In the US Civil War, the South was the group of states that fought to become separate from the federal government.

southerly

adjective us

/ˈsʌð·ər·li/

a southerly direction

southern

adjective [ not gradable ] us

/ˈsʌð·ərn/ (abbreviation S.); (abbreviation So.)

Louisiana is in the southern part of the US.

south

adjective, adverb [ not gradable ]

/sɑʊθ/

(abbreviation S.); (abbreviation So.)

in, forming, or toward the south part of something:

The University is on the south side of town.

We drove south.

Idiom

south of the border

(Definition of south from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of south

south

The last one to visit here arrived from the south.

From Minneapolis Star Tribune

To the south, we do not expect enough snow to cause many issues.

From Washington Post

The town she lived in was five miles south of the crash site.

From Chicago Tribune

We clearly have some major congestion in the south leg.

From MLive.com

In the south, we'll probably see a lot of clouds.

From Dallas Morning News

Within minutes, the ship had come inside about a mile of the beach, he said, stopped, turned around and sped off back south.

From OCRegister

The streets were filling up, most people moving south with me.

From Huffington Post

Atolls to the south get about double that.

From Huffington Post

South of the border, the statistics are similar.

From Huffington Post

The map shows the farthest south entrance, if you look very closely for the shortest of white lines.

From OregonLive.com

Several hundred feet of road deck are finished in a shallow cut-and-cover section south of where the main tunnel starts.

From The Seattle Times

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.