Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
NE

NE

2 4.0
A compass direction halfway between north and east at 45 degrees
  • noun
translation icon : noreste
  • The nearest wave measurements were made at the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) buoy 41112, located 115 km NE of the study area.

Examples

  • The wind blew from the NE, bringing a chill to the air.

  • The second station is about 7 km NE of the first.

    Blog text (22)

  • Could I take him NE of Shirebrook to the Lindsay oil refinery?

  • If you follow the road NE, you'll reach the lake in about ten minutes.

  • They set their sails to catch the breeze coming from the NE direction.

Synonyms

northeast
vsNE
35 1.0

The direction halfway between north and east at a 45 degree angle

is identical in meaning but differs in spelling or form
northeastward
vsNE
2.8

The direction halfway between north and east on a compass

is the same direction but without the movement emphasis
nor'-east
vsNE
  • Archaic
9.7

The compass point halfway between north and east

is the same meaning but modernized spelling is more common

Compounds

je ne sais quoi
6 9.9

A special quality that is hard to describe but makes something attractive

ne plus ultra
  • Formal
1 9.9

The best or most perfect example of something

Surface Forms

NE singular

Morphology

NE = northeast (semi-transparent) = N + E

The abbreviation 'NE' directly represents the full word 'northeast' and is readily recognizable as such by learners familiar with compass abbreviations. [Postprocessing: changed transparency from 'transparent' to 'semi-transparent' for abbreviation]

Etymology

NE is a short form of northeast, made from north and east. It literally points 'halfway between north and east', so when you see NE on a map or compass it shows that direction.