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:
Mangione fled uptown on an electric bicycle, then jumped into a cab that took him to the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
All that is left now is his motorbike, one red bicycle and an assortment of tools.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
“The heat doesn’t bother me much,” he said, unloading his bicycle — a blue and yellow 1989 Trek 400 — from the trunk of his car on a side street in Reseda.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Faraji, its director, told me that besides the program’s bicycle brigade and backyard fish program, which help keep mosquito populations down, his team also sets hundreds of mosquito traps across the city.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 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
Although the number of collisions involving traditional bicycles has remained relatively stable during the seven-year period, collisions involving e-bikes have increased dramatically.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
A builder who can balance items like sheds, ladders and bicycles on his chin is hoping to break a world record.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
On a recent afternoon, the Ezpawn near the Las Vegas airport is packed with everything from musical instruments and bicycles to preowned Louis Vuitton bags and Nike sneakers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
The buses operate as part of the Bee Network alongside trams and bicycles, which helps connect Manchester city centre with the areas around it like Salford, Bury and Rochdale.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
There were bicycles leaning against the back of the building.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
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
Oregon lawmakers in 2019 established a unique Tri-Met Crash Advisory Committee at the prodding of Darla Sturdy, whose 16-year-old son was fatally hit in 2003 by a train as he bicycled in suburban Gresham.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 19, 2022
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
Harstine, 70, a semiretired orchard packer, said he has noticed Hispanic men bicycling through the area.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025
Well, bicycling is one of the most tangible ways of explaining democracy.
From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2024
We see Hirayama after his shift too: bicycling at twilight, scrubbing down at a bathhouse, grabbing dinner at a favorite spot, then reading before bed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 8, 2024
Examples of light physical activity are long walks, house chores, slow dancing, slow swimming, and slow bicycling.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2023
We do what we always do when we hang out in her room, bicycling our legs into the drapey fabric and gossiping about boys she has crushes on.
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
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.
