bicycle
Americannoun
-
bicycles
plural
verb (used without object)
-
bicycles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bicycled,
past participle, past
-
bicycling
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
bicycles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bicycled,
past participle, past
-
bicycling
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bicyclesimple
-
bicyclessimple
-
have bicycledperfect
-
has bicycledperfect
-
am bicyclingprogressive
-
are bicyclingprogressive
-
is bicyclingprogressive
-
have been bicyclingperfect progressive
-
has been bicyclingperfect progressive
Past
-
bicycledsimple
-
had bicycledperfect
-
was bicyclingprogressive
-
were bicyclingprogressive
-
had been bicyclingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bicycle
From French, dating back to 1865–70; see origin at bi- 1, cycle
Explanation
A bicycle is a two-wheeled vehicle that's propelled by foot pedals and steered with handlebars. They say you never forget how to ride a bicycle once you learn. When you travel to places like Amsterdam and Beijing you'll see people of all ages using bicycles as their major form of transportation. The word bicycle is also a verb, as in "I think I'll bicycle over to the bakery and buy some muffins." The word bicycle was coined in the 19th century from a combination of the Greek bi, or "two," and kyklos, "wheel."
Vocabulary lists containing bicycle
List 5
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bi-
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Spelling Practice, Unit 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The road is impassable for cars, but can still be traversed—at great risk—by foot or bicycle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026
But an Instagram page dedicated to monitoring inaccurate or misleading race times posted by influencers published a picture which appeared to show Sun on a bicycle between the 35km and and 40km marks.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
"I just lived my life in it, and I went on my bicycle and shopping and what not. And people really liked it," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
More officers should patrol on horseback, bicycle and foot, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
If only Mom and Dad would buy me a bicycle, I could ride up there in no time.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
The couple avoids inflation by downsizing, using bicycles and buses instead of owning a car, and using hoarded frequent-flier miles for flights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
"I've brought over the man who repairs bicycles in Wolvercote, people who repair sewing, people who do computers, who sharpen knives."
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Also among the top four are the Greens, who dominate in hip inner-city areas known for trendy cafes, organic supermarkets and cargo bicycles.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Founded in the 19th century by Jewish brothers Loeb and Moses Simson in Suhl, Thuringia, it grew into a thriving industrial firm that made firearms but also bicycles and luxury automobiles.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Outside the window the rain pours down on all the drenched, dark goats and bicycles and children, and I stand here appraising the end of the world.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
We have seen many candidates in the 32 states we’ve bicycled through in the past five years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
Mamdani and Brad Lander appeared together on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and bicycled to joint events in all corners of the city.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2025
Before his death, Carroll, who had bicycled to the monastery almost every day, represented the sisters to city officials, relaying their concerns about the noise in the park.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 19, 2023
On June 20, 2020, S.S. bicycled back to her father’s home, heartbroken over the confrontation she had with the boy hours earlier.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2022
Papa occasionally used some money to buy more rice and once even surprised them by giving Mama money to buy one-day-old fish when the fish seller bicycled down the street ringing his bell.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
Post retirement, I have returned to avid road bicycling and those years pedaling a heavy steel single-speed bike with 20 pounds of papers in all kinds of weather has really paid off.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Well, bicycling is one of the most tangible ways of explaining democracy.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2024
I saw a 2013 documentary about CERN, which features a shot of an engineer bicycling through the LHC tunnel during a collider shutdown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2024
Examples of light physical activity are long walks, house chores, slow dancing, slow swimming, and slow bicycling.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2023
She had been bicycling through the air, ice cream in her hand and a book floating in front of her face.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
