bivouac ˈbi-və-ˌwak , ˈbiv-ˌwak noun and verb
noun: temporary living quarters built by the army for soldiers
noun: a site where people can pitch a tent
verb: live in or as if in a tent
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The word bivouac has appeared in six articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on April 11 in “A Dog Named Cactus Is Dominating a Race Through the Desert” by Jeré Longman:
A dog nicknamed Cactus suddenly appeared on Monday during the Marathon des Sables, a 140.7-mile stage race made harder by the heat, wind, sand dunes, rocks, stony plateaus and dry valleys of the Sahara in southern Morocco, the rough equivalent of running 23.5 miles a day for six days.
…. A standard marathon-length stage of 26.2 miles is scheduled for Friday, followed by a concluding 3.8-mile stage for charity on Saturday. On Thursday, a race spokesman said that Hadfield planned to retrieve Cactus on Saturday at the finish line.
Until then, if he remains in the race, Cactus will sleep wherever he wants at the roving bivouac where runners, organizers, support crews and journalists camp nightly in tents. He is being given water at checkpoints on the course and food by runners and officials at various places, including the campsite. The medical crew said he appeared generally healthy.
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