noun

bivouac

BIHV-oo-ak

noun

A temporary outdoor camp made with little or no shelter, especially for a night or two.

"The climbers set up a bivouac on the ledge before the final push to the summit."

"They spent a cold night in a makeshift bivouac halfway up the ridge."

verb

To camp outdoors for the night without proper tents or shelter.

"The soldiers bivouacked in the open field before dawn."

How to Use Bivouac

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA rough, temporary camp — or the act of setting one up for the night.

Common pairings

set up a bivouac bivouac for the night

bivouacked past tense, bivouacs plural, bivouacs singular, bivouacks singular

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Can you complete this real example?

The climbers set up a _____ on the ledge before the final push to the summit.

Borrowed from French bivouac, itself from a Swiss-German word meaning an extra night watch kept by a town guard.

Kerouac