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
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
Kiffin has now started working for LSU, flipping multiple Ole Miss recruits to join his project in the bayou, and rounding out his coaching staff.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
The manor’s theme, which has included both a bayou and an asylum, typically changes annually.
—Laura Kiniry, Popular Science, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bayou
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
Kiffin has now started working for LSU, flipping multiple Ole Miss recruits to join his project in the bayou, and rounding out his coaching staff.
—Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
The manor’s theme, which has included both a bayou and an asylum, typically changes annually.
—Laura Kiniry, Popular Science, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bayou
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bayou
tributary
Noun
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Instead, year-round rain and snow feed the Salt River and its tributaries.—
Shi En Kim,
AZCentral.com,
31 Mar. 2026
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Paul Faust, who lives in the Darlington area of Ligonier Township, has a small tributary to the Loyalhanna Creek in his backyard, but on Friday, that run was acting less like a stream and more like a moat.—
Chris Hoffman,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bayou.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bayou. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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