southern

UK: 'southern', 'Southern': /ˈsʌðən/ US: /ˈsʌðɚn/ ,(suᵺ′ərn)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

south•ern /ˈsʌðɚn/   adj. 

1. lying toward, located in, or directed toward the south.
2. coming from the south, as a wind.
3. of or relating to the south.
4. Place Names [Southern] of or relating to the South of the United States.
5. Astronomy being or located south of the equator:
   a southern constellation; the Southern Hemisphere.

n. [countable]

6. Place Names [often: Southern] Southerner (def. 2).

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

south•ern  (suᵺ′ərn), adj. 

1. lying toward, situated in, or directed toward the south.
2. coming from the south, as a wind.
3. of or pertaining to the south.
4. Place Names (cap.) of or pertaining to the South of the United States.
5. Astronomy being or located south of the celestial equator or of the zodiac:
   a southern constellation.

n. 

6. Place Names (often cap.) southerner (def. 2).
7. Language Varieties (cap.) the dialect of English spoken in the eastern parts of Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, in Florida, in the southern parts of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and in southeastern Texas.

• bef. 900; Middle English; Old English sūtherne. See south, -ern

South•ern  (suᵺ′ərn), n. 

1. Terry, 1924–95, U.S. novelist and screenwriter.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

southern / ˈsʌðən/ adjective

1. situated in or towards the south
2. (of a wind, etc) coming from the south
3. native to, inhabiting, or growing in the south

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Southern / ˈsʌðən/ adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the south of a particular region or country