as in tributary
a stream that flows into a larger body of water
a small creek that is the bayou of a larger stream
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Recent Examples of bayou
The mayor did not provide specifics on either plan in question with reporters following the address, referring to the MetroRail plan as a vision and the bayou taxi plan as preliminary.
—
Abby Church, Houston Chronicle, 12 Feb. 2026
Chicot State Park, Louisiana A visit to Chicot State Park will set you deep in the bayou surroundings of Chicot Lake, which is stocked with bass, crappie, red-ear sunfish, and bluegill.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 20 Jan. 2026
Jilted by Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss nonetheless beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl but Pete Golding, the new man in charge, wasn’t quite sure which of his coaches would be coming with him to prep for a semifinal date with Miami and who was making the short ride across the bayou to Baton Rouge.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 9 Jan. 2026
The City of Houston issued a news release that same day stating that a pedestrian first noticed the body in the bayou.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 25 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bayou
Abby Church, Houston Chronicle, 12 Feb. 2026
Chicot State Park, Louisiana A visit to Chicot State Park will set you deep in the bayou surroundings of Chicot Lake, which is stocked with bass, crappie, red-ear sunfish, and bluegill.
—Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 20 Jan. 2026
Jilted by Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss nonetheless beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl but Pete Golding, the new man in charge, wasn’t quite sure which of his coaches would be coming with him to prep for a semifinal date with Miami and who was making the short ride across the bayou to Baton Rouge.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 9 Jan. 2026
The City of Houston issued a news release that same day stating that a pedestrian first noticed the body in the bayou.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 25 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bayou
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bayou
tributary
Noun
-
The dirt-only diamond was loamy and soft and home plate was totally submerged in a muddy puddle, a tributary of which also snaked down the third-base line.—
Chang-rae Lee,
New Yorker,
3 May 2026
-
The simple gym room is equipped with an elliptical, a couple treadmills, and weight-lifting systems, all with views of a glistening tributary of the Cubango River that flows through the property.—
Samantha Falewée,
Travel + Leisure,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bayou.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bayou. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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