Crossword Clue: Coastal desert of southwestern Africa
Here's the answer to the Coastal desert of southwestern Africa crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: NAMIB
The answer to "Coastal desert of southwestern Africa" is NAMIB. Namib runs 5 letters — 2 vowels and 3 consonants — opening with N and closing on B. In a grid it fills a 5-square slot whose letters are each shared with a crossing word, so the intersections do a lot of the heavy lifting when the clue itself is tough.
Origin & meaning
The Namib Desert stretches along Namibia's Atlantic coast and is considered the oldest desert on Earth. Its towering red dunes at Sossusvlei are among the tallest in the world.
Common usage
You'll see NAMIB in grids regularly — its 5-letter, 2 vowels shape is exactly what setters need to bridge trickier entries. When one intersecting letter is already in place, especially the N or B, NAMIB tends to fall fast.
Crossword trivia
Short answers like NAMIB are the connective tissue of a crossword. You'll meet NAMIB again and again, and recognizing it instantly is one of the quiet skills that separates fast solvers from slow ones.
Stuck on this clue?
The fastest way past a stubborn clue like this one is the grid itself: pencil in the easy crossing answers first, and NAMIB will often be the only word that fits the letters you already have.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue NAMIB — sometimes with a straight dictionary definition, sometimes with wordplay, a pun, or a fill-in-the-blank — but the answer itself stays the same. Learning to spot the answer behind the disguise is a core crossword skill.
Example sentences
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing NAMIB into the grid took no time at all."
- "Namib is the kind of answer that clicks the moment you spot one letter."
- "Seeing 'Coastal desert of southwestern Africa' in the clue list, an experienced solver pencils in NAMIB almost immediately."