bayou

noun

bay·​ou ˈbī-(ˌ)ü 

-(ˌ)ō

1

: a creek, secondary watercourse, or minor river that is tributary to another body of water

2

: any of various usually marshy or sluggish bodies of water

Synonyms

• affluent
• branch
• confluent
• feeder
• influent
• tributary

Examples of bayou in a Sentence

a small creek that is the bayou of a larger stream

Recent Examples on the Web

The bonds have funded drainage systems and water retention basins and projects to improve natural flood prevention, including planting vegetation along bayou banks and trees across the city. —Scott Dance, Washington Post, 11 July 2024

Streetlights cast a glow just bright enough to illuminate the weathered water vessels while leaving the bayou beyond dark and mysterious. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 5 July 2024

Riders then board a log flume for a unique adventure down the bayou. —Leslie D. Rose, Parents, 3 July 2024

What better place to find musicians than in the harmonious bayou where cicadas hum, frogs take the bass, and animatronic critters play handmade instruments like washboards and buckets? —Leslie D. Rose, Parents, 3 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Louisiana French, earlier bayouque, perhaps borrowed from early Choctaw *bayok, whence Choctaw bo·k "creek, river"

First Known Use

1763, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

bayou

noun

bay·​ou ˈbī-ō 

ˈbī-ü

: a marshy or slowly flowing body of water (as a stream or inlet)