bike

¹ American  

[bahyk] / baɪk /

noun

1. Informal.

   1. a bicycle.

   2. a motorbike.

   3. a motorcycle.

2. Harness Racing. a sulky with tires like those of a bicycle.

---

verb (used without object)

bikes, present (3rd person singular) biked, past participle, past biking present participle

1. to ride a bike.

   I bike to work.

idioms

1. get off one's bike, to lose control of oneself or become angry.

bike ² American  

[bahyk] / baɪk /

noun

Scot. and North England.

1. a colony, nest, or swarm of wild bees, wasps, or hornets.

2. a teeming crowd; swarm of people.

---

bike ¹ British  

/ baɪk /

noun

1. informal short for bicycle motorcycle

2. slang away you go

3. slang to lose one's self-control

---

noun

1. slang a promiscuous woman

   the town bike

bike ² British  

/ baɪk, bəɪk /

noun

1. a wasps' or bees' nest

---

verb

1. to swarm

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• biking
  present
• biked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bike
  simple
• bikes
  simple
• have biked
  perfect
• has biked
  perfect
• am biking
  progressive
• are biking
  progressive
• is biking
  progressive
• have been biking
  perfect progressive
• has been biking
  perfect progressive

Past

• biked
  simple
• had biked
  perfect
• was biking
  progressive
• were biking
  progressive
• had been biking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bike
  simple
• will have biked
  perfect
• will be biking
  progressive
• will have been biking
  perfect progressive

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

With his bike unrideable and his team car carrying a replacement bike several minutes behind, he set off on foot towards the finish line.

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026

Hearn has told US media he visited the refurbished pool after a bike ride and noticed a piece of partially detached "American blue" paint liner.

From Barron's • Jul. 2, 2026

It’s not confirmed whether the victims were participating in the naked bike ride, Miller said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 28, 2026

The bike ride is a permitted event by the LAPD, according to the organization’s Instagram account.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 28, 2026

All three of them retrieved their bikes and began walking them back toward the bike path.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• pedal