Income Taxes (U.S. And Foreign Components Of Earnings Before Income Taxes) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Feb. 01, 2020	Feb. 02, 2019	Feb. 03, 2018
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
U.S.	$ 654	$ 792	$ 803
Foreign	28	(59)	(13)
Earnings before income taxes	$ 682	$ 733	$ 790

This element represents the income or loss from continuing operations attributable to the economic entity which may also be defined as revenue less expenses from ongoing operations, after income or loss from equity method investments, but before income taxes and extraordinary items.

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	jwn_EarningsBeforeIncomeTaxes
Namespace Prefix:	jwn_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The portion of earnings or loss from continuing operations before income taxes that is attributable to domestic operations.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 235
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08.(h)(1)(i))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26873400&loc=d3e23780-122690

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_IncomeLossFromContinuingOperationsBeforeIncomeTaxesDomestic
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The portion of earnings or loss from continuing operations before income taxes that is attributable to foreign operations, which is defined as Income or Loss generated from operations located outside the entity's country of domicile.

+ References

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
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