motorcycle
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of motorcycle
Explanation
A motorcycle is a vehicle with two wheels, an engine, and no pedals. Don't forget to wear a helmet when you jump on your motorcycle! Like a bicycle, a motorcycle has two wheels, but while you power your bike by pedaling, a motorcycle's motor takes care of that. All you have to do is keep it full of gasoline. Motorcycles don't burn as much fuel as most cars, so they are a major form of transportation in many cities. Unfortunately, they're also much more dangerous. When motorcycles were invented in the 19th century, they were also sometimes called motocycles.
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:
Hansard died Wednesday morning following a motorcycle crash in Dublin, according to the Associated Press.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Ghost Rider is the anti-hero identity of motorcycle stuntman Johnny Blaze.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Looking ahead, Harley-Davidson now expects global motorcycle retail sales of 133,500 to 138,500 units for the year, compared with a prior outlook of 130,000 to 135,000 units.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Umbu Ana allows his "ata" to earn a little money as a motorcycle taxi driver and to grow his own food on a small plot of land.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
He’s got a newspaper with him today, spread out on the seat of his motorcycle.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
“When I was 16 years old I was racing motorcycles and driving my great-grandparents’ old Plymouth Volare,” Kent said during his induction speech.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Harley-Davidson HOG -2.92%decrease; down pointing triangle said it expects to sell more motorcycles this year than it previously expected to, after reporting strong North American sales in the second quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
According to a report by the government news agency Andina, external, neighbours said unknown individuals had set fire to motorcycles parked outside, with the flames spreading rapidly through flammable mattress-making materials.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The Ventura County district attorney’s office noted that electric motorcycles differ from electric bikes because the former must abide by the same regulations as a traditional motorcycle rider.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
I zip down Pitt Street and then Cotton Street, full of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and American-made trucks.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
She has traveled and lived around the world, crisscrossed South America and Indonesia on her own, motorcycled through Europe and Turkey.
From New York Times ● May 28, 2019
He studied art at a Christian college and motorcycled through Europe in his early 20s to, he said, “sleep in fields and eat yogurt.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2017
In 1908 he motorcycled from John O'Groats to Land's End.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2016
He has since motorcycled all over the country, praising and photographing his favorite examples.
From Time Magazine Archive
At ten forty-five, the paraders were halted for some reason, and the General's runners motorcycled down along the line of march and told the bandmasters to keep on playing the liveliest of tunes.
From The Five Arrows by Chase, Allan
Starrs, a motorcycling novice, is emphasizing “joy and swagger.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
He added the auction would enable someone to "own a piece of motorcycling history" while celebrating Myers' legacy.
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2025
Tom Setterlund is a retired safety engineer who spends his time backcountry motorcycling, mostly on fire roads in the San Bernardino National Forest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2024
So I’m proclaiming this my summer of motorcycling on rice and beans.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2023
It was unconventional at least for a girl to be motorcycling about the country dressed in man's clothes with a chauffeur.
From The Apartment Next Door by Johnston, William Andrew
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.
