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:
Alan Hirst, 19, was cycling home to Adforton, Herefordshire, in February when it is believed he fell from his bike on the flooded A4110 and suffered a cardiac arrest when he entered the water.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Inflation-defying frugality is especially easy on the long bike tours that our currency of time allows us.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
He lay in a prone position, arms extended, body ensconced in gold and green lowrider armature, adhered to a blue bike frame, rocking on a 25-cent mechanical ride mechanism.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
So he packs his Lake bike shoes to use in the hotel gym.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Since Jeremy's bike was broken, he had to go to the library on foot.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
Eduardo Metzker, 29, was riding his motorcycle in Rio de Janeiro when he was suddenly boxed in by two other bikes.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
For residents like Falb, Wrightwood is a refuge from the big city, where they can breathe clean air and see the stars at night, and kids still ride their bikes in the streets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
Because outside, away from the bright lights of the gym, riders wearing balaclavas roar past on quad bikes in the darkness.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
The company declined to say how many of the bikes it exports to the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Jonah and Katherine took their bikes back to their own garage.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Within hours, papers would be biked around to investors' homes for signing, which allowed the business to drain their funds.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
“I have mountain biked in Montauk for better than 20 years,” he said in a deposition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
A few weeks ago, I biked to meet a source for coffee, since my Android phone’s AccuWeather widget had seemingly projected a low, low chance of precipitation in the area.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
I was moving without my car, so I would naturally become someone who walked, biked and took the train more.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
“It sounds boring,” she shouted from up ahead as we biked to her house after school.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
It’s also close proximity to some of Boston’s most scenic walking and biking paths, and a water taxi providing transportation to Logan Airport and other local attractions.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Like Buttigieg, he has made biking a part of his public image, even riding with a group of school kids in Brooklyn earlier this year.
From Salon ● Aug. 27, 2026
Residents of the city, which is nestled in the Appalachian foothills with the Tennessee River running through the heart of a lively downtown, enjoy a variety of outdoor activities including hiking, biking and boating.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
He’d go to bed probably at midnight, one o’clock, and he’s up taking the kids to school, he’s mountain biking, and he’s ready to roll.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
He’d picked up biking a couple of years earlier, not by virtue of its popularity, but out of necessity.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
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.
