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Synonyms

bikini

1 American  
[bih-kee-nee] / bɪˈki ni /

noun

plural

bikinis

  1. a very brief, close-fitting, two-piece bathing suit for women or girls.

  2. a very brief, close-fitting pair of bathing trunks for men or boys.

  3. Often bikinis. underwear briefs that are fitted low on the hip or below it.

Bikini 2 American  
[bih-kee-nee] / bɪˈki ni /

noun

  1. an atoll in the N Pacific, in the Marshall Islands: atomic bomb tests 1946. 3 sq. mi. (8 sq. km).

Bikini 1 British  
/ bɪˈkiːnɪ /

noun

  1. an atoll in the N Pacific; one of the Marshall Islands: site of a US atomic-bomb test in 1946

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bikini 2 British  
/ bɪˈkiːnɪ /

noun

  1. a woman's very brief two-piece swimming costume

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bikini

1945–50; < French, apparently named after Bikini

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Consider a hypothetical woman in her late 40s who is just looking to lose 10 pounds before summer so that she can finally wear that bikini she bought a decade ago.

From Slate • Mar. 22, 2026

I love the story Didion tells of going to Ralphs in a bikini on a 105-degree day.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2025

I’m standing on a Connecticut beach in a bikini at 6:25 a.m. on a November morning.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, unwittingly insulted herself by threatening to wear a bikini.

From Salon • Sep. 21, 2023

The Daily Mail, predictably, has managed to find pictures of Megan in her bikini, but they’ve also done the most detailed profile I’ve seen of her so far.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.