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Glite Dictionary
Midwest

Midwest

204 2.7
A north central part of the United States with many farms and small towns
  • proper noun
  • /ˈmɪdˌwɛst/
  • US
: Medio Oeste
  • The heart of America is often found in the Midwest, with its vast farmlands and small towns.
  • the Midwest region
  • upper Midwest
  • Midwest states

That seemed like, OK, Midwest is pretty flat, right?

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Examples

  • The town is typical of countless towns throughout the Midwest and Great Plains.

    Academic text (1992)

  • The rural school district is located in a portion of the Midwest known for state parks and other tourist opportunities.

    Academic text (2011)

  • That seemed like, OK, Midwest is pretty flat, right?

    MIT OpenCourseWare

  • So, OK, it's even tough in the Midwest to find cash flow now.

    Ryan Pineda

  • These lighting systems were all throughout the Midwest and all throughout the West.

  • Both the Northeast and Midwest, by contrast, have been falling behind a bit.

  • The U.S., with its great Midwest, which used to be the breadbasket of the world!

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The editor of a famous poetry magazine in the Midwest was particularly insistent.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Travelers in the Midwest, by contrast, notice something very different as they move through the landscape.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Hello, Midwest Air.

    Straitjacket (2021)

Synonyms

heartland
vsMidwest
46 4.5

A central part of a country that is the core of its culture and economy

is specifically the US north-central area rather than a country's central region
Middle West
vsMidwest
  • US
3 3.2

A region in the north-central United States that includes states like Ohio and Illinois

is an alternative traditional name used for the same area
Midwestern United States
vsMidwest
  • US
1 2.7

A north-central part of the United States known for farms and rivers

is the more common short name for the same US region

Surface Forms

Midwest main

Morphology

Midwest = mid + west (transparent) = mid + west

The components 'mid' and 'west' combine straightforwardly to denote the middle/western region of the United States, a meaning readily inferable from the parts.

Etymology

Midwest combines mid ('middle'), as in midnight, and west ('direction' or 'the west'). It began as a name for the area that was once the 'middle' of America's move west, so Midwest now means the north-central part of the United States, often called the 'heartland'.