mountain bike

American

noun

a bicycle designed for off-road use, typically having a smaller and sturdier frame and smaller and wider tires than a standard bicycle.

mountain bike British

noun

a type of sturdy bicycle with at least 16 and up to 21 gears, straight handlebars, and heavy-duty tyres

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

mountain bikes

plural

Etymology

Origin of mountain bike

1985–90

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:

mountain bike

“You want a mountain bike track, we’ll get you one.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026

The e‑bike, which was carrying a pillion passenger and described by Dorset Police as an "adapted electrically assisted pedal cycle or mountain bike", did not stop at the scene.

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026

“We’d chat between patients about trying to get in a mountain bike ride together. Will never happen now.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026

"He had such a great attitude. We'd chat between patients about trying to get in a mountain bike ride together. Will never happen now," Drekonja wrote on the social media platform Bluesky.

From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026

She pulls out a few more, including a mountain bike, even though the terrain is flat as a pancake here.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023