motorbike

[moh-ter-bahyk]

noun

1. a small, lightweight motorcycle.

2. a bicycle that is propelled by an attached motor.

verb (used without object)

motorbiked, motorbiking 

1. to go by motorbike; drive or ride a motorbike.

motorbike

/ ˈməʊtəˌbaɪk /

noun

1. a less formal name for motorcycle

Other Word Forms

• motorbiker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of motorbike¹

First recorded in 1900–05; motor + bike ¹

Example Sentences

There were Keith and Billy, named after two Johnson brothers who had died within weeks of each other in 1975, one from a drug overdose, the other in a high-speed motorbike crash.

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As a student, she rode a Kawasaki motorbike to Kobe University and joined a band as a drummer.

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Security camera footage from January showed Ekkalak parking his motorbike, removing his helmet and walking calmly across the road before shots rang out.

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The Welshman said he was "exhausted, but I have a really strong memory of being on the back of the motorbike whizzing through central London, going past Rada", his old acting school.

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At a Mumbai showroom of Hero Motocorp, India's largest motorbike manufacturer, a dealer told the BBC that he expected sales to jump 30–40% over the next two months compared to last year.

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Related Words

• scooter