Bay of Pigs

American  

noun

1. a bay of the Caribbean Sea in southwestern Cuba: site of attempted invasion of Cuba by anti-Castro forces April 1961.

---

Bay of Pigs British  

noun

1. Spanish name: Bahia de los Cochinos.  a bay on the SW coast of Cuba: scene of an unsuccessful invasion of Cuba by US-backed troops (April 17, 1961)

---

Bay of Pigs Cultural  

1. The location of a failed attempt by Cuban exiles to invade Cuba in 1961. The invaders, numbering about fourteen hundred, had left after the Cuban Revolution and returned to overthrow the new Cuban leader, Fidel Castro; they were trained and equipped by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. The operation was a disaster for the invaders, most of whom were killed or taken prisoner. The Bay of Pigs incident is generally considered the most humiliating episode in the presidency of John F. Kennedy, who had approved the invasion.

---

Example Sentences

In 1961, about 1,400 Cuban exiles trained by the Central Intelligence Agency landed at the Bay of Pigs on Cuba’s southern coast.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

The group was founded in 1991 by Jose Basulto, a Cuban exile, licensed pilot and veteran of the Bay of Pigs invasion.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

First, it is believed to be the biggest loss of Cuban combatants at the hands of the US military since the Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961.

From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026

Perhaps the most famous American fiasco in the region was the Bay of Pigs.

From Salon • Oct. 21, 2025

In public, Kennedy accepted blame for the Bay of Pigs disaster.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin