motorcycle
Americannoun
-
motorcycles
plural
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:
With her motorcycle, leather jacket and buzz cut, Judith looks, Katy observes, “more like a jacked, angry Sinéad O’Connor than a detective.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Operating profit for its motorcycle business increased thanks to higher sales in India and Brazil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 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
"There is a local saying that if you put a camera at an intersection in Chongqing, every 30 seconds you'll see a motorcycle pass by," said Zhang Yuanming, a 29-year-old motorbike enthusiast and instructor.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Without his motorcycle, he felt mad at the whole world.
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
Half of the 22 million motorcycles produced in China last year were exported, and nearly all brands are looking overseas.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
Chongqing has been an industry hub since 1979, when state-owned military equipment manufacturer Jialing began producing civilian motorcycles in the city.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
On 18 July, dozens of families hurriedly piled motorcycles with mattresses and any belongings they could manage as they fled the Zeitoun area, east of Gaza City.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
“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
Unlike the steady stream of the highway, here rickshaws, motorcycles, trucks, and cars shared the narrow roads alongside bicycles and throngs of people.
From "Amal Unbound" by Aisha Saeed
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 Allan Chase
While many Chinese cities have restricted motorcycling, Chongqing has embraced it and become a biker's paradise.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
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
More people walked up the dunes, including Dan Tauber, who said he’d been motorcycling around the area with friends before deciding to break off from the group to experience the launch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2025
So I’m proclaiming this my summer of motorcycling on rice and beans.
From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2023
"I've seen a red deer too," he said, "when I was motorcycling up to Ross this summer."
From The Judge by Rebecca West
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.
