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:
He told reporters that Israel came up in every town hall he addressed during a bike trip through New Hampshire this summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Jaxon was also surprised at home by the Stourbridge Neighbourhood Team - who presented him with a bike his parents had bought him as a reward for getting his mum medical help.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Eventually the rest of the Tour de France’s field—yes, the peloton, like the exercise bike you converted into a coat rack—would be tested in similar fashion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
“We’ve definitely received some positive feedback from the local bike riding community and the community in general,” Thomas said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
I dump my bike by the curb and sit to watch them circle.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
It's part of a new campaign in partnership with British Cycling, who have launched an eight-week programme designed to break down the barriers to getting people on their bikes.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Others wait on bikes, ready to track the train as it barrels forward.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Class 1 bikes can reach speeds up to 20 mph, and can be ridden by anyone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
"They also left us several electric bikes to use," Henry says.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Anyway, Twig and I rode in through the big gate to her house and tossed our bikes on the lawn.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
To better understand the product, Liu biked to work during Giant's first few years, but the habit fell by the wayside as the company grew.
From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026
We had biked across the country before, but at a combined age of 135 years when we began our ride, we could have decided we were too old for this.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2025
Black and Latino families skated or walked or biked.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2024
She and her husband biked to the club in the aftermath of the fire, greeted by the charred remains of the building on Wednesday afternoon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2023
As the women biked past the point of exhaustion, doctors measured the oxygen they were taking in and the carbon dioxide they were breathing out.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
“Other features include a large laundry room and a direct access private garage,” the listing notes, adding that the property also features “easy access to world class mountain biking and hiking trails.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
These days, he lifts weights three times a week along with light biking and does hard indoor bicycle workouts on three days.
From Barron's ● May 23, 2026
“Why not arrange a ride with China’s national mountain biking team?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
The soldier's profile notes he loves "to travel, and do anything related to the outdoors; hiking, backpacking, camping, biking, boating".
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
There were two ice-cream shops, a nickel arcade, and even a good comic book store—all within biking distance.
From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth
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.
