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bivouac

American  
[biv-oo-ak, biv-wak] / ˈbɪv uˌæk, ˈbɪv wæk /

noun

  1. a military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire.

  2. the place used for such an encampment.

verb (used without object)

bivouacked, bivouacking

  1. to rest or assemble in such an area; encamp.

bivouac British  
/ ˈbɪvwæk, ˈbɪvʊˌæk /

noun

  1. a temporary encampment with few facilities, as used by soldiers, mountaineers, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (intr) to make such an encampment

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bivouac

1700–10; < French < Swiss German bīwacht auxiliary patrol, equivalent to bī- by- + wacht patrol, watch

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Earlier on Wednesday, the team issued an update saying the men's backpacks and equipment were found during a search of a bivouac hut they are believed to have sheltered at.

From BBC • Jan. 8, 2025

The bivouac fell into a ravine, but no one happened to be in the building at the time.

From Scientific American • Apr. 3, 2023

The whole population was busy all night, and the streets are now like a bivouac with sleeping men.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 7, 2021

And now comes the coronavirus, which has prompted people to bivouac in their homes, theaters to put in place social-distancing restrictions and studios to postpone most theatrical releases through the end of April.

From New York Times • Mar. 15, 2020

As I crouched inside my bivouac sack under the lip of the bergschrund, spindrift avalanches hissed down from the wall above and washed over me like surf, slowly burying my ledge.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.