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
From the outside, the Harris County Jail might be mistaken for a high-end condo, with walls of windows that overlook the bayou in downtown Houston.
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The New Yorker, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2025
As the realities of these men from the bayou of Louisiana and the Yoruba Orisha on which they are based often feel entangled, The Brothers Size is a piece that makes myth of men who find freedom and direction in relationship to each other.
—Essence, 17 Sep. 2025
The restaurant is set inside a building whose interior decor, installed by the family, resembles that of a house in a bygone bayou.
—Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 12 Sep. 2025
The Mississippi River, draining snowmelt from the north, was thirty degrees colder than the bayou.
—Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bayou
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bayou
tributary
Noun
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The glaciers of Cayambe, Antisana, and Cotopaxi are the sources of one of those tributaries—the Río Napo.—
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The Grand Canyon is one of the world’s most famous waterways, and its stretch of the Colorado River and its tributaries are protected.—
Cite this Entry
“Bayou.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bayou. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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