as in tributary
a stream that flows into a larger body of water
a small creek that is the bayou of a larger stream
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Recent Examples of bayou
Photo by Rita Harper New Orleans If your image of a bayou consists of a misty swamp with trees draped in Spanish moss, head to Bayou St. John on your next trip to the Crescent City.
—
Jill K. Robinson, AFAR Media, 20 Mar. 2025
But in the bayou parishes, southwest of New Orleans, qui is used for both.
—Aubri Juhasz, NPR, 19 Mar. 2025
Instead of a briar patch, guests are now taken through the Louisiana bayou, to help Louis the alligator find a band to play during a big Mardi Gras celebration thrown by Tiana — which is shown in all its glory at the very end of the attraction.
—Esther Kang, People.com, 4 Mar. 2025
The captain burned the ship and sank it in a bayou; the captives, nearly all Yoruba speakers from the same village, toiled on plantations for the next five years.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bayou
Jill K. Robinson, AFAR Media, 20 Mar. 2025
But in the bayou parishes, southwest of New Orleans, qui is used for both.
—Aubri Juhasz, NPR, 19 Mar. 2025
Instead of a briar patch, guests are now taken through the Louisiana bayou, to help Louis the alligator find a band to play during a big Mardi Gras celebration thrown by Tiana — which is shown in all its glory at the very end of the attraction.
—Esther Kang, People.com, 4 Mar. 2025
The captain burned the ship and sank it in a bayou; the captives, nearly all Yoruba speakers from the same village, toiled on plantations for the next five years.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bayou
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bayou
tributary
Noun
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The Sacramento River and Klamath River basin and tributaries will remain closed to protect their salmon populations.—
Chris Biderman,
Sacbee.com,
20 May 2025
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Most of that decline happened in the river’s tributaries and lakes, where the animal’s range has decreased by 91 percent.—
Sara Hashemi,
Smithsonian Magazine,
6 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bayou.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bayou. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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