Intermediate directions are the four points halfway between the cardinal directions; they are commonly used for navigation.
While north, east, south and west are the cardinal directions used on maps, northeast, southeast, southwest and northwest are the intermediate ones. They are abbreviated as NE, SE, SW and NW.
The intermediate points are named after the two directions they're placed between on a compass rose, with "north" and "south" being mentioned first. Each intermediate direction is 45 degrees away from the cardinal direction.
Intermediate directions are commonly used for planning trips, spotting locations on a map or determining weather patterns. Meteorologists, cartographers and numerous other professionals use intermediate directions in their fields of study.
Intermediate and cardinal directions have more specific directions between them. These eight points are north-northeast, east-northeast, east-southeast, south-southeast, south-southwest, west-southwest, west-northwest and north-northwest.
