Bayous are commonly found in the Gulf Coast region of the southern United States, especially in the Mississippi River Delta, though they also exist elsewhere. A bayou is often an anabranch or minor braid of a braided channel that is slower than the main stem, usually becoming boggy and stagnant. The meaning of BAYOU is a creek, secondary watercourse, or minor river that is tributary to another body of water.

Understanding the Context

How to use bayou in a sentence. The word bayou entered English through the Louisiana French word bayouque, which in turn came from the Native American Choctaw word bayok. Bayou refers to a small, slow-moving stream or swampy section of a river or lake. BAYOU definition: a marshy arm, inlet, or outlet of a lake, river, etc., usually sluggish or stagnant.

Key Insights

See examples of bayou used in a sentence. A bayou is a slow-moving creek or a swampy section of a river or a lake where the water is still. / ˈbɑɪ u, -oʊ / Add to word list (in the southern US) an area of slowly moving or still water connected to a river or lake (Definition of bayou from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) A bayou is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area, and can either be an extremely slow-moving stream or river, or a marshy lake, or wetland. Bayous are most commonly found in the Gulf Coast region of the southern United States, in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. The term “bayou” refers to a slow-moving stream, creek, or river that meanders through a low-lying area with an almost imperceptible current.

Final Thoughts

The word derives from the Choctaw word bayuk, meaning “small stream,” and was adopted by French and English settlers.