Swimsuit   Swimsuit A swimsuit, bathing suit or swimming costume is an item of clothing designed to be worn while swimming. In New Zealand English and some areas of Australian English, swimsuits are usually called togs or bathers. This term is less common in other parts of the Commonwealth where it can also refer to clothes in general. Swimsuits can be skin-tight or loosely fitting and range from garments designed to preserve as much modesty as possible to garments designed to reveal as much of the body as possible without actual nudity. They are often lined with a fabric that prevents them from becoming transparent when wet.