How to Use leeward in a Sentence

leeward

noun
  • We turned the boat to leeward.
  • The water on the leeward side of Salt Cay is like glass.
    — Peter Kelly, Travel + Leisure, 18 Aug. 2025
  • In due course, these penguins also depart for the leeward side.
    — Quanta Magazine, 17 Aug. 2020
  • Sunshine lights the steep slopes of the leeward, or downwind, faces, on the dunes’ lower sides.
    — Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, 13 July 2018
  • For instance, mature bucks often bed on leeward ridges, ridge endings, bench edges, and more.
    — Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 19 Dec. 2024
  • The Brazilians went for a tight gap at one of the leeward marks, trying to get ahead of Canada.
    — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 22 June 2026
  • Groups of twenty or more hares gather each winter to nibble heather on leeward slopes, where the snow tends to be shallower.
    — Popular Science, 13 May 2020
  • This penguin, known as the mover, waddles in search of new neighbors in the relative warmth of the huddle’s leeward side.
    — Quanta Magazine, 17 Aug. 2020
  • The leeward — dry — side of Maui is no stranger to dangerous weather conditions for fire.
    — Evan Bush, NBC News, 17 Aug. 2023
  • Groups of 20 or more hares gather each winter to nibble heather on leeward slopes, where the snow tends to be shallower.
    — Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 11 May 2020
  • But come spring, Baldy’s steeper, leeward backside beckons and the crowds disappear.
    — Devon O’Neil, Outside Online, 23 June 2022
  • Examples include benches, ridge lines, leeward ridge lines, ridge endings, thermal hubs (crow’s feet), and more.
    — Josh Honeycutt, Outdoor Life, 17 Oct. 2024
  • Kona is the Hawaiian word for leeward and the activity often brings wind and rain to the leeward side of the islands.
    — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026
  • Forecasters issued a tropical storm watch for portions of the northern leeward islands.
    — Miami Herald Hurricane Bot, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2025
  • This produces drier conditions on the leeward side of the mountains, which is evident in the satellite image below.
    — Marshall Shepherd, Forbes, 3 Sep. 2024
  • On its leeward side, boats bobbed in Rockport Harbor, with the iconic Motif #1 as the backdrop.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 29 Jan. 2022
  • Average wind speeds had increased overnight to 33 miles per hour with gusts nearing 40—plenty strong enough to drift new snow into a leeward slab.
    — Devon O’Neil, Outside Online, 23 June 2022
  • For plants, such walls are edges that separate patches of ground into zones that are sunny or shady, windward or leeward, uphill or downhill, wetter or drier.
    — Robert M. Thorson, Discover Magazine, 9 Dec. 2023
  • Maui’s wildfire risks — particularly for communities on the drier, leeward side of the island — were known.
    — Denise Chow, NBC News, 16 Aug. 2023
  • Here, before the fire, 100 houses lay scattered across the leeward flank of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
    — Kendra Atleework, The Atlantic, 25 May 2018
  • In the normal sailing mode, the AC75 will skim above the waves on the leeward foil and rudder, with the windward foil raised out of the water to reduce drag.
    — Bernie Wilson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Oct. 2019
  • Practices usually consist of numerous warm-ups, drills, windward and leeward races, and lessons that help sharpen skills and assist the students in becoming better sailors.
    — Omar Abdel-Baqui, Detroit Free Press, 3 Aug. 2017
  • Even so, Maui County and the Big Island may remain in drought and at greater risk for wildfires because the leeward sides of their islands won’t get as much rain.
    — From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 19 Oct. 2021
  • When fall storms approach from the northern Pacific Ocean, expect deer to become more active during midday, often seeking the leeward side of a slope.
    — Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 14 Aug. 2020
  • My family in Honolulu and on the leeward side of the island was not evacuated, but one of my friends in Honolulu had to move out of her apartment due to flooding.
    — Chantell Murphy, Outside, 24 Mar. 2026
  • The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings to the leeward sides of all the islands, which means there's a danger of wildfires spreading.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Ranchers in leeward Maui County – areas currently in extreme and severe drought – have recently lost cattle due to the dry conditions.
    — From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 19 Oct. 2021
  • The company said data from ground video, onboard telemetry, post-flight tests and computational fluid dynamics pointed to excessive heating on the leeward side as the likely root cause.
    — Travis Webb, Austin American Statesman, 17 Sep. 2025
  • Red flag warnings for gusts around 50 mph are in effect through Monday evening, mostly in leeward areas, including those affected by the deadly Lahaina fire this summer.
    — Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 6 Nov. 2023
  • The warning is for leeward areas, meaning land that faces away from the wind usually sheltered by hills and mountains, due to strong winds and low humidity, the agency in Honolulu said in a morning advisory.
    — NBC News, 9 Aug. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leeward.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: