bayou

American  

[bahy-oo, bahy-oh] / ˈbaɪ u, ˈbaɪ oʊ /

noun

Chiefly Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf States.

bayous plural

1. a marshy arm, inlet, or outlet of a lake, river, etc., usually sluggish or stagnant.

2. any of various other often boggy and slow-moving or still bodies of water.

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bayou British  

/ ˈbaɪjuː /

noun

1. (in the southern US) a sluggish marshy tributary of a lake or river

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bayou Scientific  

/ bī′o̅o̅ /

1. A sluggish, marshy stream connected with a river, lake, or gulf. Bayous are common in the southern United States.

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bayou Cultural  

1. Term used mainly in Louisiana and Mississippi to describe a swampy, slowly moving or stationary body of water that was once part of a lake, river, or gulf.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• bayous
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bayou

An Americanism first recorded in 1710–20; from Louisiana French bayou, bayouc, bayouque, likely from obsolete Choctaw bayuk “creek, river” (modern Choctaw bok ); compare Chickasaw bok

Explanation

Imagine a large, sluggish, often stagnant body of water and you are probably thinking about a bayou, a marshy inlet or outlet of a lake or river. Perhaps the most famous bayou in the United States is found in Louisiana. The term bayou is a true Americanism, most probably evolving in the early 19th century from the Choctaw word bayuk, meaning "small stream," and making its way into the Louisiana French language. There is a culture specific to the Gulf of Mexico bayou areas from Texas to Florida, a mingling of the early Acadian settlers, known as "Cajuns," and the Creole culture. The bayou is a fragile ecosystem that is threatened by pollutants and environmental disasters, such as oil spills.

Example Sentences

The Louisiana National Guard had already deployed to New Orleans over the Thanksgiving weekend to help secure the city during the Bayou Classic college football game, according to law enforcement.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025

The inquiry has been examining what happened before and during the death of Sheku Bayou, who died in police custody.

From BBC • Jun. 12, 2025

Super Bowl 59 will be the city's 11th Super Bowl - tying the record with Miami - and the stage is set for another football festival on the Bayou.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2025

With the opening Friday of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Disneyland has formally rid itself of an attraction that came to be seen as problematic.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2024

He brought them to Bayou St. John, put the canoe in the water, and sat down inside.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

Related Words

• backwater