Phyllis FurmanSunday Tribune (South Africa)Clifford Pugh
Did you know?
In July 1946, a US Army–Navy task force detonated two thermonuclear bombs at Bikini, an atoll in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and the event dominated news around the world. A French designer, Jacques Heim, used the occasion to introduce a skimpy two-piece bathing suit dubbed l’atome, “the atom.” Another designer, Louis Réard, followed it up with an even smaller suit for which he registered the name bikini. It was first modeled by dancer Micheline Bernardini at a Paris fashion show on July 5. There is no solid evidence for why he gave this name to the suit, but it has since become an international word.
Examples of bikini in a Sentence
Meg Walters, InStyle, 3 Apr. 2026
Never one to shy away from posting a good bikini photo, the actress has shared many in the past.
—Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 2 Apr. 2026
Her first-look image features Carthen in a chocolate brown bikini.
—Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2026
Style it with denim shorts and flat sandals, or layer it over a little black bikini for a chic day at the beach.
—Laura Jackson, Vogue, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bikini
Cite this Entry
“Bikini.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bikini. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bikini
noun
from French bikini "two-piece bathing suit," from Bikini, atoll in the Marshall Islands
Geographical Definition
Bikini
geographical name
Note: Bikini was the site of U.S. atomic bomb tests in 1946 and hydrogen bomb tests in 1954 and 1956.
