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• arroyo
  arroyo

  noun

  (chiefly in southwest U.S.) a small steep-sided watercourse or gulch with a nearly flat floor: usually dry except after heavy rains.
• Arroyo
  Arroyo

  noun

  Gloria Macapagal. born 1947, Filipino stateswoman; vice-president of the Philippines (1998–2001); president (2001–10)

arroyo

American  

[uh-roi-oh] / əˈrɔɪ oʊ /

noun

• arroyos
  plural

1. (chiefly in southwest U.S.) a small steep-sided watercourse or gulch with a nearly flat floor: usually dry except after heavy rains.

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arroyo ¹ British  

/ əˈrɔɪəʊ /

noun

1. a steep-sided stream bed that is usually dry except after heavy rain

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Arroyo ² British  

/ əˈrɔɪjəʊ /

noun

1. Gloria Macapagal. born 1947, Filipino stateswoman; vice-president of the Philippines (1998–2001); president (2001–10)

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arroyo Scientific  

/ ə-roi′ō /

1. A small, deep gully or channel of an ephemeral stream. Arroyos usually have relatively flat floors and are flanked by steep sides consisting of unconsolidated sediments. They are usually dry except after heavy rainfall.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• arroyos
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of arroyo

1800–10, < Spanish; akin to Latin arrūgia mine shaft

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Explanation

Ever see a dried out stream or brook that sometimes, after a good rain, is racing with water? That's an arroyo, or a creek that dries out and fills with water depending on the time of year and weather. The Arroyo Seco in Southern California is an example of a well-known arroyo. Its name, which translates from Spanish to mean "dry stream" is an apt way to describe what an arroyo is — dry at times, and flowing at others. An arroyo can be natural or man-made. The Los Angeles River, for example, is an arroyo that runs along a concrete channel and helps distribute fresh water to the city.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

arroyo Arroyo arroyos

“Flash, urban, and arroyo flooding is possible with the potential for significant impacts.”

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 17, 2023

"The water was so strong it pushed him into the arroyo," said Zamora, using the term for an usually dry riverbed that runs during heavy rain.

From Reuters ● Aug. 8, 2022

Boris, 29, ran across the muddy arroyo of the Rio Grande on Dec. 3 from Ciudad Juárez to El Paso.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2021

Even a pot of California poppies and arroyo lupine can provide insect food and seed for birds, Trinidad said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2021

She waited until they had gone, and she went to the old trash pile in the arroyo where they left me.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko

Zapatero's spokesman, Luis Arroyo, said "he will provide explanations before the judge" in relation to the jewels.

From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026

She also spread Theodore Payne’s Rainbow Mix wildflower seeds throughout the landscape, including California poppies, Arroyo lupine, Desert Bluebells and Clarkia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

Hernandez counters with a list of accomplishments, including helping secure a $6.3-million state grant to house homeless individuals near the Arroyo Seco riverbed and advocating for a citywide network of unarmed crisis response teams.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026

San Luis Obispo County sheriff’s deputies joined by soil scientists and ground radar experts and armed with a search warrant have been at the Arroyo Grande home of Susan Flores since Wednesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2026

The highway snaked through green rolling hills past Nipomo, Arroyo Grande, and Pismo Beach until we reached San Luis Obispo.

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez

“Move away from recently burned areas. Life-threatening flooding of creeks, roads and normally dry arroyos is likely.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2022

To steer clear of the surveillance towers, people have pushed deeper into the mountains and now hunker down in arroyos and other crevices in the desert for longer periods of time.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 22, 2022

Washes and arroyos – drainage channels that are dry except during heavy rainstorms – can turn into raging currents within minutes, strong enough to carry away cars and people.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2021

It winds through an arid landscape of garbage-strewn arroyos, yucca and sagebrush, without paved roads or sewerage.

From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2021

They talked about sanitation and safety as they dragged the people to the paddy wagons; in July and August sudden cloudbursts could fill the arroyos with flood water and wash the shelters away.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko

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