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:
All that is left now is his motorbike, one red bicycle and an assortment of tools.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
County after he injured his leg in a bicycle accident on the island.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 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
At 75, I still skydive regularly, scuba weekly and ride a bicycle to the local gym where I work out every week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Lemon yellow with shiny silver handlebars, a flowered basket, and a metallic purple bicycle seat that sparkled in the sun.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
Founded in 1862 by Adam Opel, the company produced sewing machines and later bicycles, before venturing into car manufacturing in 1899 at its Ruesselsheim site.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
But during the decades of its existence, it touched the lives of countless people, both those who worked there and those who enjoyed its bicycles.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Among riders injured on traditional bicycles, 10.2% were 14 or younger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 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
Together, they told stories, rode bicycles, lay in the grass watching fluffy clouds drift by.
From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown
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
Before his death, Carroll, who had bicycled to the monastery almost every day, represented the sisters to city officials, relaying their concerns about the noise in the park.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 19, 2023
During World War II, as a girl, she had bicycled across Amsterdam, delivering coded messages for her sister, a nurse in the resistance.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 4, 2023
When friends clacked at keyboards, examined patients, or taught middle schoolers math, I bicycled Arthur's froggy legs because humans aren't born knowing how to pass gas.
From Salon ● Nov. 27, 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
Examples of light physical activity are long walks, house chores, slow dancing, slow swimming, and slow bicycling.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2023
Damian Kevitt, cyclist and founder of nonprofit Streets Are for Everyone, which advocates for bicycling safety, pointed at CalTrans when saying improvements were crucial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2023
“It was fine. I don't know. I don't really like big group outings. I don’t really even like bicycling, but I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that.”
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
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.
