bikini
/bɪˈki.ni/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.70 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A brief, often minimalistic two-piece bathing suit worn by women, especially one that exposes the midriff and navel.
noun
A brief bathing suit covering only the pelvis (equivalent to the bottom portion of a two-piece bikini), worn by any gender.
noun
Brief underpants or trousers that reach to the hips rather than the waist and have high cut leg holes.
name
Bikini atoll.
Example Sentences
- "Cole has little but scorn for France's famed Bikini bathing suits. Explains he: " French girls, have short legs. Swimsuits have to be hiked up at the sides to make their legs look longer. ""
- "The café where they were gathered, Bikini Beans, was part of a chain whose baristas wear bikinis."
- "We high-schoolers didn't understand why death came in the form of a gorgeous young man with muscles in a skimpy bikini."
- "[…]a group of bikini-clad young men had started a game, and Alex could see why lifeguards referred to men's bikinis as banana hammocks. She made a mental note: No men in bikinis in my picnic issue. She was also, naturally, noticing what the women were wearing. It was, as Mel had said, mostly shorts and cutoffs, halters, cotton[…]"
- "Boxer shorts, knitted briefs, and bikinis are the most popular styles in shorts, formerly called “drawers.”"
- "[…] slid his pants off, revealing glimpses of red cotton bikinis covered by the tail of his white oxford."
Etymology
Etymology tree Marshallese pik Marshallese ni Marshallese Pikinnibor. German Bikinibor. English Bikinibor. French Bikini French bikinibor. English bikini From French bikini, named after the place name Bikini, from English Bikini, the name of the atoll where the United States tested nuclear weapons in July 1946; it was reckoned that the bathing suit would cause as much excitement as a nuclear bomb. This name was originally from German Bikini, the colonial name of the atoll as part of German New Guinea, and this was derived from Marshallese Pikinni.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: bikini, Pikinni
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bɪˈki.ni/
- British English: /bɪˈkiː.ni/