Meaning
In Australian English, swimmers can mean swimwear: clothing worn for swimming, including forms that other English varieties may call a swimming costume, swimsuit, or swimming trunks.
How it is used
Cambridge labels swimmers Australian English and defines it as informal swimwear, comparing it with British swimming costume or swimming trunks. Australian Geographic reports strong regional variation in Australian swimwear vocabulary, with swimmers competing with togs, bathers, cossie and other labels across states and territories.
Examples
- “Don’t forget your swimmers and towel.”
- “I left my swimmers in the hotel room.”
- “The kids changed into their swimmers before the pool opened.”
Pronunciation
/ˈswɪm.əz/ · SWIM-uhz
Tone and register
Casual and ordinary. The term is useful but should not be presented as the one universal Australian word for swimwear because regional preferences are especially visible in this vocabulary area.
Visitor guidance
Visitors can understand swimmers as swimwear when the context is clothing, beaches, pools, packing, or changing rooms. In other contexts swimmers simply means people who swim, so grammar and situation matter. Expect regional alternatives across Australia.
Cultural context
Swimwear vocabulary is a good reminder that Australian English is not perfectly uniform nationwide. Terms such as swimmers, togs, bathers, and cossie can map social geography without providing a reliable test of where an individual speaker comes from.
Places represented
Open the reviewed place guide for each regional sense carried by this canonical entry.