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:
He worked at a hotel and as a motorcycle delivery man, but eventually pursued a career in tennis coaching, starting with just 40 tennis balls.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Harley-Davidson raised its full-year global motorcycle retail sales forecast after reporting strong North American sales in the second quarter.
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
Craig Foreman was arrested with his wife, Lindsay, in January last year while passing through Iran on a motorcycle journey from Europe to Australia.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
“Well, Mom likes us to dress normally,” I said, glancing at the motorcycle jacket.
From "Maybe He Just Likes You" by Barbara Dee
The company 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
Law enforcement officials say parents sometimes buy electric motorcycles for their children assuming they are like e-bikes, but e-motorcycles can reach far higher speeds than regular e-bikes and require a driver’s license.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 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
Mom and Dad were always completely opposed to the idea of ever allowing me on one of Cade Hernandez’s motorcycles.
From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith
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
The soldier motorcycled in to see the artist.
From Time Magazine Archive
June 8… Norm and I went sailing; motorcycled to Loud Thunder.
From Through these Eyes The courageous struggle to find meaning in a life stressed with cancer by Isaacson, Lauren Ann
That blocked the pipeline bringing new people into motorcycling, said Christy LaCurelle, president and chief executive of the Motorcycle Industry Council.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
I loved it as a whole aesthetic, but I wanted to remove it from this motorcycling boy world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2024
So I’m proclaiming this my summer of motorcycling on rice and beans.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2023
And if you don’t feel like transporting yourself from home, the virtual Pacific Northwest Museum of Motorcycling is an online resource committed to documenting the history of motorcycling in the Northwest.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2023
The boys had been talking of motorcycling, and had been discussing Bert's record-breaking run across the continent.
From Bert Wilson on the Gridiron by Duffield, J. W.
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.
