debouch

/dɪˈbaʊtʃ/

Other forms: debouched; debouching; debouches

When soldiers debouch, they march out of a very narrow space. Troops might debouch out of a long pass between mountains, for example.

When military troops debouch, they march in a long, narrow line — sometimes single file — because of the width of the area they're moving through. As they debouch, the soldiers emerge in a larger area, like an open field. The narrow space is known as a defile in military terminology. The verb debouch has a French root, déboucher, which combines dé, or "removal," and bouche, "mouth."

Definitions of debouch

1. verb

   march out (as from a defile) into open ground
   “The regiments debouched from the valley”

   synonyms: march out

   type of:

   march, process

   march in a procession
2. verb

   pass out or emerge; especially of rivers
   “The tributary debouched into the big river”

   type of:

   come forth, come out, egress, emerge, go forth, issue

   come out of