fanny dipper
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Somebody who enters a body of water for recreational swimming or bathing.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Examples
Thirty-plus years earlier, it was on the beach in front of this building, with its lookout tower and rescue boat at the ready, that the town's earliest "fanny dippers," bathers, and swimmers of varied abilities, first made a practice of entering the ocean "in front of the lifeguard" […]
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “fanny dipper” mean?
Somebody who enters a body of water for recreational swimming or bathing.
Is “fanny dipper” formal or informal?
fanny dipper is generally slang.