bike
1 Americannoun
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a colony, nest, or swarm of wild bees, wasps, or hornets.
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a teeming crowd; swarm of people.
noun
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informal short for bicycle motorcycle
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slang away you go
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slang to lose one's self-control
noun
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bikesimple
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bikessimple
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have bikedperfect
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has bikedperfect
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am bikingprogressive
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are bikingprogressive
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is bikingprogressive
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have been bikingperfect progressive
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has been bikingperfect progressive
Past
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bikedsimple
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had bikedperfect
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was bikingprogressive
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were bikingprogressive
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had been bikingperfect progressive
Future
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.
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:
According to the release, the e-bike rider was traveling westbound on Warner Avenue west of Plaza Lane when he lost control of the bike.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
A 21-year-old man was killed in a crash involving an electric bike in Huntington Beach last week, officials said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
He told reporters that Israel came up in every town hall he addressed during a bike trip through New Hampshire this summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Jaxon was also surprised at home by the Stourbridge Neighbourhood Team - who presented him with a bike his parents had bought him as a reward for getting his mum medical help.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Riding my bike is one—I don’t feel angry when I’m riding.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
It's part of a new campaign in partnership with British Cycling, who have launched an eight-week programme designed to break down the barriers to getting people on their bikes.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Others wait on bikes, ready to track the train as it barrels forward.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Class 3 bikes can reach a maximum speed of 28 mph, and riders must be at least 16 years old and wear a helmet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
In another finding, the study said injured e-bike riders tend to be younger than those hurt on traditional bikes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
They’d told Mom and Dad only that they were riding their bikes to the library.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
We hiked, biked, relaxed in the spa sauna and sampled the signature Bled cream cake.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
In her statement, she claimed one investigator biked tapes of the illegally obtained phone recordings "to the defendant's newspaper for £2,000 plus, in cash, hidden in an envelope".
From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026
I had not seen another person for quite a while as I biked deeper into the hinterlands of the island, connecting to East End Light Road.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2025
She and her husband biked to the club in the aftermath of the fire, greeted by the charred remains of the building on Wednesday afternoon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2023
Others biked in and walked to the rack at the side of the gym.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
Safety starts with drivers paying attention to people in the streets, whether biking, walking or playing, they said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
“Other features include a large laundry room and a direct access private garage,” the listing notes, adding that the property also features “easy access to world class mountain biking and hiking trails.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
They wander among the houses -- painted mostly in shades of white, yellow or brown -- and go biking or hiking in the surrounding hills of central Slovakia.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
The gated community has direct access to year-round recreation, including skiing, hiking, mountain biking, ATVing, and snowmobiling; it also has a private trout pond.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
There were two ice-cream shops, a nickel arcade, and even a good comic book store—all within biking distance.
From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
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.
