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bivouac

Syllabification: (biv·ou·ac)
Translate bivouac | into Italian
Definition of bivouac

noun

  • a temporary camp without tents or cover, used especially by soldiers or mountaineers.

verb

[no object] (bivouacked, bivouacking)
  • stay in a temporary camp without cover:he’d bivouacked on the north side of the town the battalion was now bivouacked in a field

Origin:

early 18th century (denoting a night watch by the whole army): from French, probably from Swiss German Bîwacht 'additional guard at night', apparently denoting a citizens' patrol supporting the ordinary town watch

bivouac in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of bivouac in the British & World English dictionary