bikini

/bɪˈkiː.ni/

//bɪˈkiː.ni// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"bikini" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bikini” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,172. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,172
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A brief two-piece bathing suit worn by women, especially one that exposes the midriff and navel.

Corpus desk

Index EN-bikini · bikini · English

bikini · rank #11,172 · 8 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,172
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH Bieber

Nearest frequency peer: Bieber (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “bikini”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “bikini” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bikini vs biting
67% similar
bikini vs Birkin
50% similar
bikini vs baking
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for bikini
PropertyValue
Headwordbikini
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/bɪˈkiː.ni/
Letters6
Frequency rank#11,172
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “bikini”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).bikinilands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Bieber” (#11,171), “bisexual” (#11,173), “beware” (#11,170). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “bikini” is #11,172. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around bikini (IPA /bɪˈkiː.ni/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,172 among 4,121 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for bikini, with forms such as "bbikini", "biikni", and "bikiin". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "biting", "Birkin", "baking", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 correct English form is bikini, spelled B-I-K-I-N-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    A brief two-piece bathing suit worn by women, especially one that exposes the midriff and navel.
  2. 2
    A brief bathing suit covering only the pelvis (equivalent to the bottom portion of a two-piece bikini), worn by any gender.
  3. 3
    Brief underpants or trousers that reach to the hips rather than the waist.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how bikini appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 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. "
  2. The café where they were gathered, Bikini Beans, was part of a chain whose baristas wear bikinis.

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.

This word in other languages

biquini(Español)bikini(Français)Bikini(Deutsch)biquíni(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbikini
  • biikni
  • bikiin
  • bikinni
  • bikkini
  • biknii
  • bkiini
  • ibkini

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bikini - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

bbikini1biikni2bikiin2bikinni1bikkini1biknii2bkiini2ibkini2
Edit distance from "bikini"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bikini"?
"bikini" is spelled B-I-K-I-N-I. The IPA pronunciation is /bɪˈkiː.ni/.
What does "bikini" mean?
As a noun, "bikini" means: A brief two-piece bathing suit worn by women, especially one that exposes the midriff and navel.
What words are commonly confused with "bikini"?
"bikini" is commonly confused with "biting", "Birkin", "baking". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bikini"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bikini" is /bɪˈkiː.ni/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "bikini"?
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 a... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "bikini", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Bieber#11,171beware#11,170beasts#11,168coping#11,189

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

appoint8 variantscrisp8 variantscrust8 variantstract8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list