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.

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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)

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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.

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Example Sentences

Similar pictures appear in state museums across the island from the Bay of Pigs to Birán, the birthplace of the father of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

The same month, the Bay of Pigs invasion failed.

From Slate • Aug. 1, 2025

In fact, his successor, John F. Kennedy, exercised those powers in a major way in the Bay of Pigs incident.

From Salon • Nov. 10, 2024

In her book, Juanita Castro, a staunch anti-communist, wrote that she began collaborating with the CIA shortly after the United States botched the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 6, 2023

Belgium, and hired soldiers left over from the Bay of Pigs.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver