I. south 1 S1 W2 BrE AmE , South /saʊθ/ noun [singular, uncountable] ( written abbreviation S )
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ south , ↑ southerly , ↑ southern , ↑ southbound , ↑ southernmost ; adverb : ↑ south , southward(s), ↑ southbound ; noun : ↑ south , ↑ southerner ]
1 . the direction that is at the bottom of a map of the world, below the Equator. It is on the right if you are facing the rising sun:
Which way is south?
from/towards the south
By now, the army was approaching from the south.
to the south (of something)
Gatwick airport is a few miles to the south of London.
2 . the south the southern part of a country or area
in the south
They lived in a small town in the south.
the south of
the south of India
II. south 2 BrE AmE , South adjective [only before noun] ( written abbreviation S )
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ south , ↑ southerly , ↑ southern , ↑ southbound , ↑ southernmost ; adverb : ↑ south , southward(s), ↑ southbound ; noun : ↑ south , ↑ southerner ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: suth ]
1 . in the south, or facing the south:
a village on the south coast
I am currently teaching in south Texas.
2 . a south wind comes from the south
III. south 3 BrE AmE adverb ( written abbreviation S )
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ south , ↑ southerly , ↑ southern , ↑ southbound , ↑ southernmost ; adverb : ↑ south , southward(s), ↑ southbound ; noun : ↑ south , ↑ southerner ]
1 . towards the south:
Most of the birds had already flown south.
south of
a seaside town 99 km south of London
a south-facing garden
2 . down south
a) British English informal in or to the southern part of England:
We moved down south about five years ago.
b) American English ( also down South ) in or to the southern US states:
His sister lives down south.
3 . go south American English informal if a situation, organization, or set of standards goes south, it becomes very bad although it was once very good:
It seems like all our moral standards have just gone south.