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bayou
[ bahy-oo, bahy-oh ]
/ ˈbaɪ u, ˈbaɪ oʊ /
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noun, plural bay·ous.Chiefly Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf States.
a marshy arm, inlet, or outlet of a lake, river, etc., usually sluggish or stagnant.
any of various other often boggy and slow-moving or still bodies of water.
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ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
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Origin of bayou
1710–20, Americanism;<Louisiana French, said to be <Choctaw bayuk river forming part of a delta
Words nearby bayou
bay oil, bayonet, bayonet hair, bayonet socket, Bayonne, bayou, bay poplar, Bay Psalm Book, Bayreuth, bay rum, bay salt
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use bayou in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for bayou
bayou
/ (ˈbaɪjuː) /
noun
(in the southern US) a sluggish marshy tributary of a lake or river
Word Origin for bayou
C18: from Louisiana French, from Choctaw bayuk
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for bayou
bayou
[ bī′ōō ]
A sluggish, marshy stream connected with a river, lake, or gulf. Bayous are common in the southern United States.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for bayou
bayou
[ (beye-ooh, beye-oh) ]
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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.