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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

Etymology

Origin of arroyo

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

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

Also, a graceful arroyo willow that sprouted near Margaret’s one-time vegetable garden now towers over the family’s home, attracting so many bees with its spring blooms that the branches seem to hum.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2024

"The ongoing and historic amount of rainfall is expected to cause life-threatening to locally catastrophic flash, urban and arroyo flooding including landslides, mudslides and debris flows today," the service said.

From Reuters ● Aug. 21, 2023

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

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 17, 2023

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

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

Arroyo Grande 4, Loyola 3: An RBI single in the eighth inning by Colton Gotchal pushed Arroyo Grande to victory over top-seeded Loyola in Division 2.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

Some of the work led to Wednesday’s search warrant for the property in the 500 block of East Branch Street in Arroyo Grande.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026

In 2023, the trio keyed in on the Arroyo Grande home of Susan Flores, a short distance from Ruben Flores’ house.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 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

Plein air painters flocked to capture the light of the arroyos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2023

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

The bajada beneath the badlands is open country cut by steep-walled arroyos.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer