west by north


nounNavigation, Surveying.
  1. a point on the compass 11°15prime; north of west. Abbreviation: WbN

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use west by north in a sentence

  • This island lies with that of Santa Isabel west-by-north and east-by-south.

    The Solomon Islands and Their Natives | H. B. (Henry Brougham) Guppy
  • The general course of the river had been nearly south-west; but it there turned west-by-north.

    A Voyage to Terra Australis | Matthew Flinders
  • In the afternoon, seeing an island bearing north-west-by-west, we steered away north-west-by-north, to be to the northward of it.

    Early Australian Voyages | John Pinkerton
  • Lanyard cocked a sly eye at the tell-tale; it designated their course as west-by-north a quarter west.

    Alias The Lone Wolf | Louis Joseph Vance

British Dictionary definitions for west by north

west by north

noun
  1. one point on the compass north of west, 281° 15′ clockwise from north

adjective, adverb
  1. in, from, or towards this direction

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012