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:
Officers from North Wales Police were called to reports of a crash involving a black motorcycle on Marine Drive on the Great Orme in Llandudno, Conwy county, at about 22:31 GMT on Thursday.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
Global retail motorcycle shipments fell 8% to 33,616 units as part of Harley’s plan to ease dealer inventory issues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
He can no longer operate his motorcycle taxi business.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
Electric motorcycle maker LiveWire announced a special restructuring committee is weighing the company’s options following the resignation of CEO Karim Donnez.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Wearily Ralph pushed his motorcycle back to the cave under the clock where it was safe.
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
Harley predicts that by the end of this year, it will sell 135,500 to 139,000 motorcycles worldwide.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
A Malawi-based company that assembles and converts electric motorcycles, SGV, said demand had grown as conventional fuel became harder to obtain.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
"They also took motorcycles abandoned by people fleeing the attack."
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
His mother is from Australia and his father is a Torrance native who chose racing motorcycles over playing high school soccer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2026
But there are no large pickup trucks or motorcycles roaring by with Faith & Honor members.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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
Starrs, a motorcycling novice, is emphasizing “joy and swagger.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
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
This incident meant another little pang, but the freshness of the morning and the exhilaration of the ride—for motorcycling has thrills which aviation does not know—helped banish all thoughts of an unpleasant morning.
From Tam o' the Scoots by Edgar Wallace
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