🧭 Toward that direction 🧭 A compass point

north-northeast

6 3.6

Toward the direction halfway between north and northeast on a compass

adverb
/nɔrθ-nɔrθˈiːst/

: hacia el noreste

The hikers headed north-northeast to avoid the mountain range.
moving north-northeast

Examples

We should head north-northeast to reach the campsite.
The hiker adjusted his compass to ensure he was traveling in a north-northeast direction.
Sail the ship north-northeast for two hours to reach the next port.
The wind was blowing north-northeast at fifteen miles per hour that morning.
The compass pointed north-northeast as we navigated.
The storm is heading north-northeast, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
To navigate properly, you should set your bearing to north-northeast when you leave the campsite.

Synonyms

nor'-nor'-east

vsnorth-northeast

Archaic

1 9.9

In the direction between north and northeast

is the standard descriptive phrase rather than the spoken form

NNE

vsnorth-northeast

1 5.3

A compass direction halfway between north and northeast

is the full descriptive phrase instead of a brief technical label

Antonyms

south-southeast

4 3.3

In the direction halfway between south and southeast

Surface Forms

north-northeast positive

Morphology

north-northeast = north + northeast (transparent) = north + northeast

Hyphenated compounding of established compass points; the adverbial sense is the same directional concept and is transparent.

Etymology

North-northeast describes movement toward the direction halfway between north and northeast, in other words 'a bit east of north', which is why sailors and maps use it to give a clear direction.