budgie smugglers
"budgie-smugglers" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“budgie smugglers” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 16
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - 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 lifesavin...
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | budgie smugglers |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 16 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “budgie smugglers” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
budgie smugglers is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "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 lifesavin...".
budgie smugglers doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is budgie smugglers, spelled B-U-D-G-I-E- -S-M-U-G-G-L-E-R-S.
Definition
- 1A 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.
Etymology
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.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “budgie smugglers”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is B-U-D-G-I-E- -S-M-U-G-G-L-E-R-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.