bikini

bikini — noun

1. a woman's swimsuit with a separate top and bottom, usually leaving the stomach a

1.nounB2
Definition

a woman's swimsuit with a separate top and bottom, usually leaving the stomach area uncovered

Example

On the beach in Kenting, Ava wore a red bikini and a sun hat.

wear a bikini

The shop window displayed bikinis beside towels and rubber sandals.

plural: bikinis

Common collocations
  • red bikini
  • wear a bikini
  • pack a bikini
  • bikini top
  • wet bikini
Synonyms
  • swimsuit

    a broader word that also includes one-piece styles

  • bathing suit

    common especially in American English, but not limited to this two-piece design

  • two-piece

    a shorter clothing term that needs context to show you mean swimwear

Antonyms
  • one-piece

    a swimsuit made as one garment instead of two separate parts

Grammar Patterns

wear a bikini

in a bikini

bikini top

Usage Note

Usually countable. For the separate parts, speakers often say bikini top and bikini bottoms rather than repeating the full noun.

Common Mistakes

My brother bought a bikini for surfing.
My brother bought swimming trunks for surfing.
bikini usually refers to a woman's two-piece swimsuit, not men's swimwear.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Bikini names one specific kind of swimwear: a two-piece suit with separate top and bottom. Swimsuit is the wider everyday word, so it can mean a bikini, a one-piece, or another style. Bathing suit is a common alternative in American English and is also broad, not specific to two pieces. One-piece is the clear opposite design, since the top and bottom are joined. Tankini is closer to bikini because it has two parts too, but its top is longer and covers more of the stomach. Compare: 'Ella bought a new bikini for the beach holiday,' but 'The school shop sells swimsuits in several styles.'

bikini ↗swimsuit ↗bathing suitone-piecetankini

Common collocations

Nouns

  • bikini top
  • bikini bottoms
  • bikini shop

Phrases

  • wear a bikini
  • try on a bikini
  • pack a bikini

Prepositions

  • in a bikini

Etymology

MarshalleseFrenchEnglish

The word came into English in the 1940s from French bikini. The French name was taken from Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, and English later kept the same form for the swimsuit.