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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

bivouac

/ˈbɪvwæk/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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What does bivouac mean?

noun

  1. An encampment for the night, usually without tents or covering.
  2. Any temporary encampment.
  3. A temporary shelter constructed generally for a few nights.
More meanings (5)

noun

  1. A structure formed by migratory ants out of their own bodies to protect the queen and larvae.
  2. (dated) The watch of a whole army by night, when in danger of surprise or attack.

verb

  1. To set up camp.
  2. To watch at night or be on guard, as a whole army.
  3. To encamp for the night without tents or covering.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈbɪvwæk/

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Two or three of these columns had disappeared in these bivouac fires, and had warmed the large hands of the Imperial troops.
Victor HugoLes MisérablesTranslated by Isabel Florence HapgoodProject Gutenberg ebook #135
I always liked them, but never perhaps so much as when they were thus grouped together under the light of the bivouac fire.
Alexander William KinglakeEothen; Or, Traces of Travel Brought Home from the EastProject Gutenberg ebook #282
More book examples (3)
The roads along which the convoys are moving are indicated upon the map, or the position of the massed troops in bivouac is similarly shown.
Frederick Arthur Ambrose TalbotAeroplanes and Dirigibles of WarProject Gutenberg ebook #793
I reached the place of our bivouac by sunset, and drinking much mate, and smoking several cigaritos, soon made up my bed for the night.
Charles DarwinThe Voyage of the BeagleProject Gutenberg ebook #944
But now the deer-flies were rife in the woods, and the rocky hillside nooks warm enough for the nightly bivouac, so the woodland was deserted.
Ernest Thompson SetonAnimal HeroesProject Gutenberg ebook #2284