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Glite Dictionary
Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll

7.9
A ring of small islands in the Marshall Islands where the United States tested nuclear bombs
  • proper noun
  • /bɪˈkiːni əˈtɔl/
translation icon : Atolón Bikini
  • In 1946, the United States began a series of atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll.

Examples

  • The environmental impact of the nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll is still being studied today.

  • The Bikini Atoll was once inhabited by people before it became a test site.

  • Bikini, it's from the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific, where the US conducted atomic bomb tests.

    London Fields (2018)

Synonyms

Bikini
vsBikini Atoll
10 8.4

A group of small islands in the Marshall Islands used for United States nuclear tests

is the same in meaning but uses the longer two word form

Surface Forms

Bikini Atoll main

Morphology

Bikini + atoll

As a proper-name + noun combination, a B1 learner who knows 'Bikini' is a name and 'atoll' is a coral island can infer this refers to an island called Bikini, so the basic referential meaning is compositionally clear. However the specific historical association (that it was used for US nuclear testing) is encyclopedic and not derivable from the constituents, and the homograph 'bikini' (the swimsuit) may also mislead learners, so full meaning requires prior knowledge.

Etymology

Bikini Atoll is the name of a small ring of coral islands that became famous because the United States set off many big nuclear bombs there after World War II. The striking picture of bright explosions over the tiny atoll helps you remember that the name refers to a place of 'nuclear tests' and long-lasting 'radiation' risk.