Meanings
speedos1
alternative Speedos
- AustraliaCanadaNew ZealandUSplural normallyA men′s tight fitting brief swimsuit.
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.
2 more examples
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 118Their 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 - pluralplural of speedo
Speedos2
- AustraliaA tight-fitting brief or bikini style swimsuit.
She called down from upstairs, "He'll be out in a minute: he's just putting his Speedos on."
2 more examples
The women usually wore bikini tops with shorts, swimsuits underneath cover-ups or just swimsuits. Men came in various types of trunks, from traditional boxers, to Speedos, to G-string trunks that showcased their packages.
2013, Velvet Carter, Blissfully Yours, page 93There were dozens of girls there - girls on the deck in bathing suits, most of them Speedos because they were racing.
2014, Norah McClintick, #3 Dead And Gone, page 12Synonyms: banana hammock, bikini, budgie smugglers, cock jocks, competition briefs, dick pointers, dick togs, nut huggers
Speedos3
- USpluralplural of Speedo
She always had two spare Speedos for her swimming competitions away from home.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA tight-fitting brief or bikini style swimsuit.
Origin
speedos · noun
From Speedos (“trademark of the Speedo company”), which has become a generic name.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
speedos. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speedos
“speedos.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speedos. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “speedos,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/speedos.
Source: speedos on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.