flipper

From flip + -er. Compare Saterland Frisian Flappert (“flipper, wing”).

cog

In marine mammals such as whales (or other aquatic animals such as sea turtles), a wide flat, limb adapted for swimming.

A wide, flat, paddle-like rubber covering for the foot, used in swimming.

плавник

A flat lever in a pinball machine, triggered by the player to strike the ball and keep it in play.

(cricket) A type of ball bowled by a leg spin bowler, which spins backwards and skids off the pitch with a low bounce.


banana hammock

From the similarity in appearance of the protrusion of an occupied hammock and the bulge of the genitals in these tight-fitting briefs.

She had wanted me to wear Speedos – an orange banana hammock – but I had put on camouflaged cutoffs and a tank top.

2008, Mario Acevedo, The Undead Kama Sutra, EOS, published 2008, →ISBN, page 105:

I should go to the other extreme and don a Speedo. Might it be awesome to see my classmates' expressions as I strut out sporting a banana hammock?

2010, Josh Berk, The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin, Knopf, published 2010, →ISBN, page 19:

I'd acquiesced gracefully, wondering wickedly what it would take to get him to ditch the board shorts for a banana hammock. The man would look mouthwateringly delicious in a Speedo.

2012, Carter Quinn, The Way Back, Dreamspinner Press, published 2012, →ISBN, page 10:

(slang) A pair of skimpy swim briefs for men.


bathing costume

en-noun

bathing costume (plural bathing costumes)

(chiefly British, dated) The clothes that one wears when bathing in the sea or a swimming pool, especially the one-piece garment worn by women and girls.


bathing suit

(US, Canada) A tight-fitting garment worn for swimming, especially the one piece garment worn by women and girls; a swimsuit.


swimming costume

swimming costume (plural swimming costumes)

(UK, Ireland) the garments that one wears when bathing in the sea or a swimming pool, especially the one-piece garment worn by women and girls.


monokini

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Borrowed from French monokini or simply mono- + -kini, punningly reinterpreting the first syllable of "bikini" as the prefix bi-.

[Psylocke is] wearing a mix between a monokini and cut-out swimwear, a wardrobe change[.]

2014, Joseph J. Darowski, The Ages of the X-Men: Essays on the Children of the Atom, →ISBN:

A one-piece swimsuit, which may cover both the chest and the crotch (as contrasted with a bikini, which consists of two pieces).


swimsuit

Appendix:Roget MICRA thesaurus/Class II § 225. Clothing -- the closest included

Put on your swimsuit and let's go for a swim.


sunga

I suspiciously open one eye and there's Edson, kneeling next to me and flashing a smile as white as his sunga.

2021, Aliénor Salmon, Finding Rhythm: An International Dance Journey:

A narrow, rectangular men's swimsuit to cover the genitals and posterior, popular in Brazil.


bikini

→ Norwegian Bokmål: 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.

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. "

A brief two-piece bathing suit worn by girls and women, especially one that exposes the midriff and navel.


jammer

2001, Newsgroups: rec.sport.swimming, Mon, 09 Jul 2001 21:39:52 GMT, Subject: Re: Laying out in Myrtle Beach
As for me, I wear a dragsuit to the pool, and regular trunks to the beach. In competitions, I wear speedos, but am more comfortable in "jammers", which is a half-bodysuit.

In early May, I was starting to swim in jammers which I was not accustomed to or comfortable wearing. I have always thought that wearing spandex is an earned privelege,^([sic]) not a birthright.

2006, David West, 140.6 - One Man's Journey: The Metamorphosis from Casual Runner, page 62:

Enter jammers in the mid-1990s. Jammers have the look of biking shorts with skin-tight Lycra covering the thigh to mid-thigh or the knee, depending on the cut.

2007, Janet Evans, Janet Evans' Total Swimming, page 5:

A kind of form-fitting swimwear used by athletes, resembling shorts.

A device (e.g. a jumar) which will slide along a rope in one direction but not the other, used in rock-climbing, caving etc.

(roller derby) A player who attempts to score points by making their way past other players.


wetsuit

A close fitting, insulating garment usually made from neoprene or similar material designed to keep one warm during activities on or under water.


swimming trunks

A pair of shorts or briefs worn for swimming or bathing.

مايوه رِجالي

a pair of shorts or briefs worn for swimming or bathing


budgie smugglers

A jocular reference to a man's tight-fitting swimming costume or swimsuit appearing as if he has a budgerigar concealed inside it, i.e. his bulging genitals.

Alternative form: budgie-smugglers

Roughly, the rule goes: if you have just swum, are planning to swim soon or are reasonably proximate to a place where others are swimming, then your budgie smugglers are perfectly acceptable.

2006 July 9, Annabel Crabb, “UK learns rules of Texas hold 'em”, in The Sydney Morning Herald:

"Mr Baillieu has popped out of the water in his budgie-smugglers, but he doesn't reckon that climate change is a problem," Garrett scoffed. "I mean, give me a break."

2006 November 23, Stuart Rintoul, “Bracks's walk was on the wild side”, in The Australian:

“If you think that men in budgie smugglers don’t look good, well all the blokes in this race still have it and they looked great,” she joked.

2012 January 11, Amy Findlay, “Awesome Ironman!”, in Milton Ulladulla Times:

A MAN has been fined and banned from recreational fishing in Victoria after confusing his budgie smugglers for abalone smugglers.

2012 January 12, Kate Starke, “Smuggler hid illegal abalone in underpants”, in Herald Sun:

Next, on with his favourite budgie smugglers. His sequined posing pouch. No winky shrinkage for him.

2023 April 21, John Crace, “Psycho goes down raging: the liberal wokerati finally get to Raab”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(Australia, New Zealand, UK, informal) A style of tightfitting men's swimming costume cut like underwear briefs that covers the buttocks and groin but not the legs and reveals the bulge of the genitals; especially worn in surf lifesaving and in swimming races.


maillot

Borrowed from French maillot (“shirt, leotard”).


cossie

From costume + -ie (“diminutive suffix”).

“Let's not bother with cossies Jack. Let′s pretend it′s years ago.”
She remembered the times they had swum at Eleni beach totally naked, the moon and stars lighting the little waves as they rolled slowly to shore.

I struck off boldly, but soon found myself unaccountably labouring. The reason became abundantly clear when I stood up, clad only in two three-foot-long shoulder straps, with two stone of waterlogged cossie round my ankles.

2009, Brenda Sensicle-Creese, Sensicle, But Not Always, page 3:

She would just change now very quickly and then run down to Lingerie and—no, she thought, I won′t; I′ll go to the cossies first, because I don′t want anyone to see me carrying that parcel from Lingerie (which used a different patterned wrapping paper, printed with a lace and ribbom design) because they might guess what′s in it, or they might ask. So I′ll just go to the cossies first.

2009, Madeleine St. John, The Women in Black, page 72:


swimmers

I adjust my hat, I wipe my hands on the back of my swimmers to ensure they are dry, then get in my ready position.

2012, Adam Fraser, Write Now!The Third Space, →ISBN, page 156:

(chiefly New South Wales, Canberra) A swimsuit.


nut huggers

So-called due to their propensity to compress (hug) the nuts (testicles).

(slang, vulgar) Men's swimming briefs, tight-fitting jeans or similar, especially tight, lower-body garments.


two-piece

A garment consisting of two separate parts; especially such a swimsuit


speedos

From Speedos (“trademark of the Speedo company”), which has become a generic name.

For example, board riders paid more attention to appearances (short hair v long hair, speedos v board shorts) and conspicuous behavior (surfing for training rather than for fun or to express oneself), than life savers.

1979, Kent Pearson, Surfing Subcultures of Australia and New Zealand, University of Queensland Press, page 118:

2000 July, Ian Jack (editor), Granta, Issue 70: Australia: The New New World, →ISBN, page 42,
I remember my mother standing exasperated in the rain with the brolly over her head at dusk while I frog-kicked around in my speedos.

Their club is Manly, and this word is emblazoned across the back of their speedos.

2006, Margaret Henderson, Marking Feminist Times: Remembering the Longest Revolution in Australia, page 212:

(Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand, usually in the plural) A men′s tight fitting brief swimsuit.


dookie

In Scots, dookie, doukit, and douker (terms related to the British English duck, equivalent to the American English dunk) have all been used to refer to Baptists. Hence a dookie in Scots is, jocularly, someone who ducks or dunks people in water when baptising them.

(Scotland) swimming costume, bathing suit


swimwear

swimwear (usually uncountable, plural swimwears)

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April 19 2002, Scott Tobias, AV Club Dark Tidehttp://www.avclub.com/articles/dark-tide,72548/
For Stockwell’s purposes, Halle Berry reps an appreciable presence in swimwear, but even her opening voiceover sounds swamped by boredom and regret.

Items of clothing appropriate for swimming.


bathing trunks

His bathing trunks were ruined and he didn't have another pair.


tankini

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“Bar closing. Your card declined.” “Ah, man. That'll be my ex-wife going nuts on BikiniWorld.com again. She's never met a tankini she didn't wanna bring home. I'll just go get some cash out. You guys hold tight.” “Well, now, how about we get the drinks?”

2021 April 18, Kevin Avery, “Tusk in the Wind Adventure” (6:23 from the start), in The Great North, season 1, episode 9, spoken by Tusk Johnson (J.K. Simmons):

A bathing suit composed of a tank top and the lower half of a bikini.


burqini

(Islam) A head-to-toe swimsuit, enabling women to conform to the Islamic dress code when bathing on a public beach.


bikini bottom

Sandy had to clean sand out of her bikini bottom after Patrick accidentally kicked the ground next to where she was seated.

The poster depicts model Gail Kelly as a snorkeler clad only in a bikini bottom with her back to the camera.

1979 December 7, Morton Lucoff, “No nude girl, but new poster's an eyeful”, in The Miami Herald:


boardshorts

boardshorts pl (plural only, attributive boardshort)

But the appeal of the label — now sold at surf shops in 19 states and 12 countries — is that its black boardshorts and no-frills logos both bypass the sport’s floral sartorial clichés and also, for those in the know, summon up a hard-core, roots surfer image of riders like those Da Hui underwrites.

2008 May 15, Guy Trebay, “A Line in the Sand and in the Stores”, in New York Times:

A style of typically knee-length lightweight shorts worn generally by males as swimwear and for surfing.


boardies

I find them a curiously confronting sight, dressed in thongs, boardies and Victoria Bitter singlets, and shrouded in Australian flags.

2009, Paul Daley, Beersheba: A Journey Through Australia's Forgotten War, page 313:

Sadly he was later parted from his beloved leopard print boardies when he left them drying on his tent in Rome, and a bypasser took off with them. More sadly that meant that someone else out there also thought that leopard print boardies were a ‘must have’ fashion item.

2010, Shannon Meadows, Road Wench - It's A Tour, Not A Holiday, unnumbered page:

Every so often families in bikinis, boardies and sarongs traipse past on their way back from the beach and look in.

2010, Matt Preston, “A Pilgrimage to El Bulli”, in Don George, Janet Austin, editors, A Moveable Feast, Lonely Planet, page 121:


zoomer

→ Russian: зу́мер (zúmer)

Portmanteau from Generation Z and boomer (“baby boomer, a person born between 1945 and early 1960s”). Merriam-Webster identified the earliest use in its current sense as being made on 16 March 2016 by an aviation engineer named Jennie Santoro at HNTB Seattle, in a presentation called "Boomers to Zoomers: Passing the Torch to Generation Z!"
However, the word was ultimately popularized through a variant of the Wojak meme which originated on 4chan on July 21st, 2018, and from there spread to other platforms. Accordingly, Urban Dictionary view statistics suggest that it began gaining traction in mid-2018 before peaking in January 2020.

Coordinate term: millennial

Hug a Boomer/Xer/Millennial/Zoomer In case you missed it: Gen Z is mad at boomers for the state of the world; boomers are mad at Gen Z for being so dismissive; Gen X feels forgotten and yet resents even themselves; […]

2019 December 27, Anya Strzemien, “13 Ways to Be a Better Person in 2020”, in New York Times:


trikini

From tri- + bikini, interpreting the first syllable as bi-. Compare monokini.

A swimsuit comprising three separate pieces of fabric, typically bottoms and one for each breast.


mankini

Blend of man + bikini, equivalent to man + -kini.

Then he spray-tans and parades before a panel of judges in a posing suit, known in the sport as a mankini.

2012 April 1, Mary Pilon, “Sculptured by Weights and a Strict Vegan Diet”, in The New York Times:

A few supporters even wore mankinis of their own in solidarity.

2024 February 19, Yan Zhuang, “An Olympic Equestrian Rode a Horse in a ‘Mankini.’ Australia Loves Him.”, in The New York Times:


swim fin

flipper, footwear used while swimming for more speed


camikini

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-camikini.wav

A swimsuit consisting of a thin-strapped camisole top and a bikini bottom.


halterkini

A swimsuit consisting of a halter top and a bikini bottom.


skirtini

A two-piece swimsuit consisting of a bikini or other style top (halter, tank, etc.) and a short, skirted bottom.


bandkini

"The bandkini is very popular," said Shawn Smith, owner of Tropic Trader on Hilton Head. "It has a band-style top with detachable straps and bikini bottoms."

2001 June 10, Erin Becker, “Summer fashions hit area beaches”, in The Island Packet:

A swimsuit consisting of a generally strapless bandeau top and a bikini bottom.


bandikini

It now includes the camikini (camisole top) and bandikini (tube top).

1999 June 3, Anne Bratskeir, “Tanks a Lot”, in Newsday:


bandini

The new concept in two-piece swimwear, along with sister suits -- the camisole-strapped camikini and the bandeau-topped bandini, will be the dominant silhouettes for spring/summer '99.

1999 February 18, Polly Rayner, “The two-for-one suit”, in Morning Call:

Elisabeth Filarski's name may be a distant memory, but her legacy is extending far beyond the Australian Outback. Among the popular swimsuit styles you'll find across Middle Georgia this summer is the one the footwear designer of "Survivor" fame wore on that TV show: the bandeau bikini, or bandini, which features a tubelike top.

2001 May 27, “Suit Yourself”, in Macon Telegraphy:

Paula Hermanny for VIX continues the wave of beads and sequins on this "bandini," $140, with bandeau/tank top and "scoop" bottom in grape, […]

2006 May 7, “Well-suited”, in Sarasota Herald-Tribune:


swim briefs

For racing, swim briefs for men and swimsuits for women often feature bicycle padding. Serious triathletes jump right onto their bikes after the swim, not taking time to change to cycling shorts. Unless you're tough, buy a padded suit. They tend not to fit or stay as snug as cycling shorts, so as crazy as it sounds you may want to do a practice ride in your padded swimsuit prior to race day, to make sure you're comfortable enough.

2001, Wes Hobson, Clark Campbell, Mike Vickers, Michael F. Vickers, Swim, Bike, Run, page 90:


racing briefs

A quick flip-turn jackknifed his narrow hips out of the water for a second as he began another lap, exposing the most miniscule^([sic]) pair of black racing briefs that she'd ever seen outside a magazine swimwear layout.

1989, Candace Schuler, Sophisticated Lady, Harlequin, →ISBN, page 152:

A briefs-style male swimsuit such as those worn in competitive swimming and diving.


swimshorts

shorts designed for aquatic sports or as beachwear, typically worn by males


microkini

A very skimpy bikini that covers little beyond the genitals and nipples.

Microkini

a very skimpy bikini that covers little beyond the genitals and nipples


fatkini

Gregg, a size 18, famously posted an image of herself in a striped “fatkini” last spring — deep cleavage, non-skinny legs and all.

2013 February 1, Jennifer Barger, “Curve Appeal”, in The Washington Post:

Gabi’s "fatkini" stories shed light on the misconceptions about women, body image, and swimwear.

2013 May 24, Olivia Fleming, “Fashion blogger's 'Fatkini' swimsuits sell out within hours to the disappointment of thousands of eager plus-size customers”, in Daily Mail:

(slang) A two-piece swimsuit designed for an overweight woman; a plus-size bikini.


facekini

Blend of face + bikini, calque of Chinese 臉基尼 /脸基尼 (liǎnjīní), equivalent to face + -kini.

In the summer, look out for the armies of brides and bridegrooms using the beaches for their wedding photos, and look out for another more recent phenomena: the facekini.

A desire to protect the whiteness of the skin when no parasol is at hand has given rise to the “facekini.”

2018, Sophia Camille Erickson, The China Option: A Guide for Millennials: How to Work, Play, and Find Success in China, unnumbered page:

Europeans are depicted enjoying the beach environment in Rhodes, Greece, and Chinese citizens using floatation devices and covering up with the facekini and bodysuits are portrayed in Hainan island, China.

2019, Tingzhen (Jane) Chen & Philip L. Pearce, "Chinese Tourists and the Sun: Implications for Design Experiences", in Delivering Tourism Intelligence: From Analysis to Action (eds. Philip L. Pearce & Hera Oktadiana), pages 183-184

In scorching Beijing, “facekinis” are the hottest new fashion as surging temperatures shatter records.

2023 July 21, Reuters, “‘Facekinis’ become popular in China as temperatures soar”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

A balaclava-like swimwear face mask which completely covers the face except for holes for the eyes, nose, and mouth, worn as protection from sun and irritants.


swimcap

(clothing) A waterproof cap worn on the head while swimming.


bikini briefs

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I expected Burt to be wimpish or emaciated without his detective dress suit, but he was quite the opposite. He obviously worked out regularly. His swimsuit wasn't one of those male bikini briefs, but he certainly could wear one.

2023, Judy Spoon Ertel, Any Which Aweigh You Die:


grape smugglers

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Humorously suggesting that the bulges are the result of grapes hidden inside the clothing.

(clothing, slang, humorous) Tight or skimpy swimwear worn by men revealing details of the genitalia.


swim trunks

From swim + trunks, or shortened from swimming trunks.


sluggos

From slug + -o. So-called due to the bulge of the genitals resembling a slug beneath the seam or pouch region of the briefs.

He had no luck with the sluggos, something he said he suffered when he wore them, but neither of us knew what he was talking about.

Their times came down and down until, on about the tenth change of dress, they went from sluggos to wetsuits in one minute forty-three.

2012, Gregor Salmon, Navy Divers, page 20:

I was paddling out, and this guy said, What are you doing in those sluggos?

2015, Tom Carroll, Nick Carroll, TC, page 16:

(slang, Australia) A type of men's swimming briefs where the bulge of the genitals is noticeable.


tanksuit

A woman's one-piece swimsuit, or maillot.


slingkini

A one-piece swimsuit resembling the Y-shape frame of a slingshot which is supported by fabric at the neck providing as little or even less, coverage (or as much exposure) as a bikini.


bikini top

Tori had to readjust her bikini top when it became dislodged after a dive into the water.


swimshirt

Jess always wore a specially protective swimshirt over her togs to minimise the effect of the sun on her fair skin, and a floppy white hat, but Raefe was bare-shouldered and hatless as he worked away at the sandcastle.

1997, Lindsay Armstrong, Accidental Nanny, Mills & Boon, →ISBN, pages 43–44:

Ensure also that you’ve got adequate sun protection; in addition to high-SPF sunscreen and hats, Lycra swimshirts are a good idea.

2002, Cathy Lanigan, Travel with Children, 4th edition, Lonely Planet, →ISBN, page 222:

Hats, sunglasses, and long-sleeved swimshirts are also important aspects of safe sun exposure.

2016, Meghan Treitz, Maya Bunik, David Fox, “Ambulatory & Office Pediatrics”, in William W. Hay, Jr., Myron J. Levin, Robin R. Deterding, Mark J. Abzug, editors, Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Pediatrics, twenty-third edition, McGraw-Hill Education, →ISBN, page 238:

A shirt worn over a swimsuit in order to provide extra protection from the sun.


microbikini

Victoria's Secret and microbikinis were out of the question—so were the enveloping caftans that would trip her up if she tried to run.

2006, Anne Stuart, Cold As Ice, page 184:


string bikini

A woman's two-piece swimsuit that is more revealing than a regular bikini, consisting of two triangular pieces connected at the groin but not at the sides, where a thin "string" wraps around the waist, connecting the two parts with a top that is similar and is tied in place by the attached "string" pieces.


swimming briefs

Later I called him with Judy's suggestion; he agreed immediately. After all, we would get to swim in a mixed-gender pool, with the women wearing bikinis and the men in swimming briefs.

2010, Sami Alrabaa, Veiled Atrocities: True Stories of Oppression in Saudi Arabia, page 199:

A briefs-style male swimsuit such as those worn in competitive swimming, diving, and water polo.