bivouac

plural bivouacs · alternative bivouack · alternative obsolete biouac · alternative obsolete bivoac · alternative obsolete bihovac · alternative bivy · alternative bivvy

1. An encampment for the night, usually without tents or covering.

   1 more example

   Townsend hare inhabit this area, particularly above the cabin, and a skier is likely to have one explode from a tree well and disappear into the whiteness as he skis by. Life is a constant bivouac for them -- they spend days huddled in tree wells during storms -- but I suspect they are as content and warm in their luxurious coats as we are in a cabin.

   2014, Patrick Armstrong, The Log of a Snow Survey, →ISBN

2. Any temporary encampment.
3. A temporary shelter constructed generally for a few nights.

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

   September 23, 2005, Boston Globe

   1 more example

   Behold the Mansion reared by Dædal Jack! See the Malt stored in many a plethoric sack, In the proud cirque of Juan's bivouac!

   1977, K.M. Elizabeth Murray, Caught in the Web of Words, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 63

4. datedThe watch of a whole army by night, when in danger of surprise or attack.
5. biologyA structure formed by migratory ants out of their own bodies to protect the queen and larvae.

   Army ants (genus Eciton) migrating and gathering in a bivouac.

   2026 July 8, “Observe an Eciton army ant colony migrating by night and forming a bivouac nest entirely out of themselves”, in Britannica

   1 more example

   High in the rafters, a bivouac of ants swayed uneasily in the draught created by the shutting of the heavy, old, wooden door.

   2022, Ian D. Hall, Underneath, Beaten Track Publishing

present singular third person bivouacs · present singular third person bivouacks · participle present bivouacing · participle present bivouacking · participle past bivouacked · past bivouacked · alternative bivouack · alternative obsolete biouac · alternative obsolete bivoac · alternative obsolete bihovac · alternative bivy · alternative bivvy

1. intransitivetransitiveTo set up camp.

   We'll bivouac here tonight.

   1 more example

   They reached the fir wood which had caused them so much trouble while it was still daylight, and bivouacked in a hollow just above it. It was tedious gathering the fire wood; […]

   1951, C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia

2. intransitiveTo watch at night or be on guard, as a whole army.
3. intransitiveTo encamp for the night without tents or covering.