cycle

[sahy-kuh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cycle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any complete round or series of occurrences that repeats or is repeated.

a round of years or a recurring period of time, especially one in which certain events or phenomena repeat themselves in the same order and at the same intervals.

any long period of years; age.

a bicycle, motorcycle, tricycle, etc.

a group of poems, dramas, prose narratives, songs etc., about a central theme, figure, or the like: the Arthurian cycle.

Physics.

a sequence of changing states that, upon completion, produces a final state identical to the original one.
one of a succession of periodically recurring events.
a complete alteration in which a phenomenon attains a maximum and minimum value, returning to a final value equal to the original one.

Mathematics. a permutation of a set of elements that leaves the original cyclic order of the elements unchanged.

Computers.

the smallest interval of time required to complete an operation in a computer.
a series of computer operations repeated as a unit.

verb (used without object), cy·cled, cy·cling.

to ride or travel by bicycle, motorcycle, tricycle, etc.

to move or revolve in cycles; pass through cycles.

Idioms

hit for the cycle, Baseball. (of one player) to hit a single, double, triple, and home run in one game.

Origin of cycle

1350–1400; Middle English cicle < Late Latin cyclus < Greek kýklos cycle, circle, wheel, ring, disk, orb; see wheel

Related formssu·per·cy·cle, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cycle

revolution, series, period, course, rhythm, round, wheel, alternation, run, chain, sequence, ring, sequel, orbit, age, circuit, succession, rotation, circle, loop

Examples from the Web for cycle

Contemporary Examples of cycle

It almost mirrors the Buddhist cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
The Buddhist Business of Poaching Animals for Good Karma
Brendon Hong
December 28, 2014
Eventually, the mistletoe bush grows, blooms, and forms berries, and the cycle begins anew.
Mistletoe is the Vampire of Plants
Helen Thompson
December 21, 2014
For Republicans, the 2016 cycle will show us whether old dogs have learned new tricks.
Now, Gay Marriage Is a GOP Problem
Marc Solomon
November 15, 2014
That cycle of intelligence-gathering and capturing or killing fighters helped turn the tide of combat operations.
ISIS Keeps Getting Better at Dodging U.S. Spies
Shane Harris, Noah Shachtman
November 14, 2014
Even Republicans who opposed a federal wage hike in this cycle were often supportive or silent about state and local increases.
To Make Their Victory Durable, the GOP Must Fix the Minimum Wage
Dmitri Mehlhorn
November 6, 2014

Historical Examples of cycle

The three works will serve to complete each other, and they complete a cycle of the theme.
Bride of the Mistletoe
James Lane Allen
My sixth a cycle of revolving time,Which visits every nation, age, and clime.
Harper's Young People, June 15, 1880
Various
The cycle of beauty and eternal hope, and, incidentally, the good of trade.
Another Sheaf
John Galsworthy
In general it appears that practice has moved and still moves in a cycle.
College Teaching
Paul Klapper
Then he mounted his cycle and rode away from me down the drive towards the Hall.
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for cycle

cycle

noun

a recurring period of time in which certain events or phenomena occur and reach completion or repeat themselves in a regular sequence

a completed series of events that follows or is followed by another series of similar events occurring in the same sequence

the time taken or needed for one such series

a vast period of time; age; aeon

a group of poems or prose narratives forming a continuous story about a central figure or eventthe Arthurian cycle

a series of miracle playsthe Chester cycle

a group or sequence of songsSee song cycle

short for bicycle, tricycle, motorcycle

astronomy the orbit of a celestial body

a recurrent series of events or processes in plants and animalsa life cycle; a growth cycle; a metabolic cycle

physics a continuous change or a sequence of changes in the state of a system that leads to the restoration of the system to its original state after a finite period of time

one of a series of repeated changes in the magnitude of a periodically varying quantity, such as current or voltage

computing

a set of operations that can be both treated and repeated as a unit
the time required to complete a set of operations
one oscillation of the regular voltage waveform used to synchronize processes in a digital computer

(in generative grammar) the set of cyclic rules

verb

(tr) to process through a cycle or system

(intr) to move in or pass through cycles

to travel by or ride a bicycle or tricycle

Derived Formscycling, noun, adjective

Word Origin for cycle

C14: from Late Latin cyclus, from Greek kuklos cycle, circle, ring, wheel; see wheel

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cycle

late 14c., from Late Latin cyclus, from Greek kyklos "circle, wheel, any circular body, circular motion, cycle of events," from PIE *kwel- "to roll, to move around, wheel" (cf. Sanskrit cakram "circle, wheel," carati "he moves, wanders;" Avestan caraiti "applies himself," c'axra "chariot, wagon;" Greek polos "a round axis" (PIE *kw- becomes Greek p- before some vowels), polein "move around;" Latin colere "to frequent, dwell in, to cultivate, move around," cultus "tended, cultivated," hence also "polished," colonus "husbandman, tenant farmer, settler, colonist;" Lithuanian kelias "a road, a way;" Old Norse hvel, Old English hweol "wheel;" Old Russian kolo, Polish koło, Russian koleso "a wheel").

1842, "revolve in cycles," from cycle (n.). Meaning "to ride a bicycle" is from 1883. Related: Cycled; cycling.

cycle in Medicine

cycle

[sī′kəl]

n.

An interval of time during which a characteristic, often regularly repeated event or sequence of events occurs.

A single complete execution of a periodically repeated phenomenon.

A periodically repeated sequence of events.

cycle in Science

cycle

[sī′kəl]

A single complete execution of a periodically repeated phenomenon. See also period.

A circular or whorled arrangement of flower parts such as those of petals or stamens.