bikini

noun

bi·​ki·​ni bə-ˈkē-nē 

plural bikinis

1

a

: a two-piece bathing suit worn by women that does not cover the midriff see also string bikini, tankini

b

: a short snug swimsuit worn by men

2

: a pair of low-cut briefs (see brief entry 2 sense 4)

Launched in May, the underwear brand for men and women includes bikinis, … G-strings and boxer briefs.

—Phyllis Furman

… ultra low-rise jeans with a built-in bikini or thong.

—Sunday Tribune (South Africa)

—often used before another noun

Bikini briefs are usually lower than the true waist, often at the hips.

—Clifford Pugh

bikinied adjective

or less commonly bikini'd

bə-ˈkē-nēd 

Examples of bikini in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In a separate post that day, the CEO added two laughing emoji when quote-tweeting an image of a toaster with a bikini on it. —Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026

In additional images, Alba lounged by the seashore in two different styles of leopard print bikini. —Hannah Malach, InStyle, 9 Jan. 2026

The lack of response to this from the people who are the stewards of this platform, and the people who can exert pressure on this—including X employees or investors, or Elon Musk himself, who has made jokes about the @Grok bikini-photo stuff on the platform over the past week. —Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2026

Musk on Thursday reposted an AI photo of himself in a bikini, captioned with cry-laughing emojis, in a nod to the trend. —James Folta, Literary Hub, 8 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French, from Bikini, atoll of the Marshall Islands

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing bikini

• bikini wax
• string bikini

Rhymes for bikini

• acini
• aldine
• arsine
• carinii
• cosine
• delphine
• domine
• latine
• leucine
• ovine
• pennine
• porcine

Kids Definition

bikini

noun

bi·​ki·​ni bə-ˈkē-nē 

: a scanty two-piece bathing suit for a girl or woman

Etymology

from French bikini "two-piece bathing suit," from Bikini, atoll in the Marshall Islands

Geographical Definition

Bikini

geographical name

Bi·​ki·​ni bi-ˈkē-nē 

island (atoll) of the Marshall Islands

Note: Bikini was the site of U.S. atomic bomb tests in 1946 and hydrogen bomb tests in 1954 and 1956.

Bikinian

bi-ˈkē-nē-ən 

noun