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.

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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.

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bike ¹ British  

/ baɪk /

noun

1. informal short for bicycle motorcycle

2. slang away you go

3. slang to lose one's self-control

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noun

1. slang a promiscuous woman

   the town bike

bike ² British  

/ baɪk, bəɪk /

noun

1. a wasps' or bees' nest

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verb

1. to swarm

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

Example Sentences

The bigger garage gives them more room to store their snowblower, lawn mower and kids’ bikes, and the extra bathroom means “I don’t have to share a shower with an 8-year-old,” Bartelt said.

From The Wall Street Journal

My daily routine, I told him, involves a two-mile morning walk with my dog followed by 30 minutes of swimming laps or riding a stationary bike.

From Los Angeles Times

When he was 11, he began portraying Will Byers, the baby-faced boy who was abducted while biking home at night from a friend’s house and pulled into an alternate dimension known as the Upside Down.

From Los Angeles Times

He also gave the 1980s one of its most memorable political soundbites when he described how his father "got on his bike to look for work".

From BBC

A cyclist who set out to recreate his father's epic round-the-world bike journey made it home just days before Christmas.

From BBC

Related Words

• pedal