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Synonyms

bike

1 American  
[bahyk] / baɪk /

noun

  1. Informal.

    1. a bicycle.

    2. a motorbike.

    3. a motorcycle.

  2. Harness Racing. a sulky with tires like those of a bicycle.

verb (used without object)

biked, biking

  1. to ride a bike.

    I bike to work.

idioms

  1. get off one's bike, to lose control of oneself or become angry.

bike 2 American  
[bahyk] / baɪk /

noun

Scot. and North England.

  1. a colony, nest, or swarm of wild bees, wasps, or hornets.

  2. a teeming crowd; swarm of people.

bike 1 British  
/ baɪk /

noun

  1. informal short for bicycle motorcycle

  2. slang away you go

  3. slang to lose one's self-control

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. slang a promiscuous woman

    the town bike
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bike 2 British  
/ baɪk, bəɪk /

noun

  1. a wasps' or bees' nest

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to swarm

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bike1

1880–85, alteration of bicycle

Origin of bike2

1250–1300; Middle English, equivalent to *bi bee (< Old Norse bȳ bee 1 ) + *yeke, Old English gēoc help, safety

Explanation

A bike is a pedal-powered two-wheeled vehicle. If you don't have time to walk to work, you might decide to ride your bike instead. Bike is shorthand for a bicycle or a motorbike. A bike enthusiast might keep a bike rack on her car and a bike helmet in her trunk at all times. Bike is also a verb, so you could say: "I'll bike over to the movie theater — meet you there in fifteen minutes!" This word, as a nickname for bicycle, first appeared in American English in 1882. It came to mean "motorcycle" about 50 years later.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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.

A lot of you read it, even the columns about bike racing, for which I am grateful.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

He braked hard but was travelling at between 25 and 27mph when he hit the bike, the court heard.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

Renting a bike is an easy way to get around or spend an afternoon exploring.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

In an Instagram video explaining the encounter, Fetzer says that there were two cars harassing him and his friend, despite their position in the bike lane and following the rules of the road.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2026

It’s like a joke that as I bike home, the rain slows to a drizzle and stops completely as I pull alongside the back fence.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Definitions 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.