bivouac

1 temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers; "wherever he went in the camp the men were grumbling" [syn: camp, encampment, cantonment]

2 a site where people on holiday can pitch a tent [syn: campsite, campground, camping site, camping ground, encampment, camping area] v : live in or as if in a tent; "Can we go camping again this summer?"; "The circus tented near the town"; "The houseguests had to camp in the living room" [syn: camp, encamp, camp out, tent] [also: bivouacking, bivouacked]

English

Pronunciation

(biv'-oo-ak, biv'wak)

Noun

1. The watch of a whole army by night, when in danger of surprise or attack.
2. An encampment for the night, usually without tents or covering.
3. A temporary encampment.
   • 2005, Boston Globe, September 23, 2005

     The outing begins by Thursday noon, when the recreational vehicles start rumbling into town and their owners set up bivouacs.

Verb

1. To set up camp.

   We'll bivouac here tonight.

Related terms

• bivouacked
• bivouacking
• bivouacs
• bivouacks

Bivouac may refer to:

• Bivouac shelter, an encampment
• Bivouac sack, or "bivy sack" or bivy bag, an extremely lightweight alternative to traditional tent systems
• Bivouac (ants), where a nest is constructed out of the living ant worker's own bodies
• Bivouac (band), a UK indie rock band of the 1990s
• Bivouac (album), a 1992 album by the punk band Jawbreaker
• Happy Bivouac, a song and the album named after it by the Japanese band The Pillows

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