moped
Americannoun
-
mopeds
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of moped
1955–60; < German, ultimately < Swedish ( trampcykel med ) mo ( tor och ) ped ( aler ) pedal cycle with engine and pedals
Explanation
A moped is a two-wheeled vehicle that can be powered by pedals or an engine. You might find it easier to get around the city on your moped than in a car. Although today there are some mopeds that don't have them, the earliest versions always included bicycle pedals. The word itself was coined in 1952 by a Swedish journalist, from trampcykel med motor och pedaler, literally "pedal cycle with motor and pedals." It's relatively easy to get a license to ride a moped, which is less powerful and slower than a motorcycle.
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:
Police said the investigation was at an early stage but it was believed the moped had been pursuing the e-bike cyclist prior to the crash.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Simson's moped division puttered on after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall but eventually went bust in 2002.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
A ballroom dancer who coddles his pet rats—Fred and Ginger—Declan rides a moped that his colleague, Sara Xiu, describes as “that pitiful hair-dryer on wheels.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Anything faster is classified as an moped or e-motorcycle, which can require someone to have a motorcycle classification on their license.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
As I moped about this morning, feeling sorry for myself, it occurred to me, like a simple solution to an impossible problem: today is the day I’ve been waiting for.
From "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer
During communist days, chronic shortages and years-long waiting lists for cars like the puttering Trabant meant that mopeds and motorcycles became an indispensable way to get around.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
The Met introduced them two years ago after realising that offenders had started using them, instead of mopeds, because they were more agile.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026
Echo Park Eats also implemented five-minute parking on their lot in 2024, but neighbors say that has only pushed more delivery drivers to linger on the street or on the sidewalk with their mopeds.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2025
A Ram truck with a yellow barnacle on its windshield, a handful of mopeds under rain covers, and a lot of empty parking spaces.
From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2025
“You think a hardware store sells mopeds on the level?”
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
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.
