pedal
Americannoun
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a foot-operated lever used to control certain mechanisms, as automobiles, or to play or modify the sounds of certain musical instruments, as pianos, organs, or harps.
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a leverlike part worked by the foot to supply power in various mechanisms, as the bicycle.
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Music.
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a foot-operated keyboard, as on an organ or harpsichord.
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any of the keys of such a keyboard.
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verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
adjective
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of or relating to a foot or the feet.
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of or relating to a pedal or pedals.
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using pedals.
a pedal mechanism.
noun
verb
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to propel (a bicycle, boat, etc) by operating the pedals
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(intr) to operate the pedals of an organ, piano, etc, esp in a certain way
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to work (pedals of any kind)
adjective
Usage
What does pedal mean? A pedal is a foot-operated lever that controls some kind of mechanism. The most common kinds of pedals are those on a bicycle, the brake pedal and gas pedal (accelerator) in a car, and the pedals used in musical instruments like pianos and organs. Pedal can also be a verb meaning to operate a pedal, as in You’d better pedal faster! In American English, the past tense is spelled pedaled and the continuous tense is spelled pedaling. In British English, as with many other words, the l is doubled: pedalled and pedalling. Example: When I was a kid, I liked to pedal my bike as fast as I could and then take my feet off the pedals and watch them keep spinning.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pedalsimple
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pedalssimple
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have pedaledperfect
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have pedalledperfect
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has pedaledperfect
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has pedalledperfect
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am pedalingprogressive
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am pedallingprogressive
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are pedalingprogressive
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are pedallingprogressive
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is pedalingprogressive
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is pedallingprogressive
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have been pedalingperfect progressive
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have been pedallingperfect progressive
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has been pedalingperfect progressive
-
has been pedallingperfect progressive
Past
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pedaledsimple
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pedalledsimple
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had pedaledperfect
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had pedalledperfect
-
was pedalingprogressive
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was pedallingprogressive
-
were pedalingprogressive
-
were pedallingprogressive
-
had been pedalingperfect progressive
-
had been pedallingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pedal
1605–15; (< French pédale ) < Latin pedālis of the feet. See ped- 2, -al 1
Explanation
Anything you push with your feet to control a machine, vehicle, or instrument is a pedal. When you use a sewing machine, you push the pedal with your foot to make the needle move up and down. When you see the letters ped, something related to the foot might just be afoot. Pedestrians walk around by foot, and a pedicure is when your tootsies get the spa treatment. Those letters don’t always relate to feet, but it does with pedal, the noun or verb. The controls on the floor of your car are pedals, and if you put the pedal to the metal, it means you press as hard as you can on the gas pedal. Woohoo!
Vocabulary lists containing pedal
Body Language: Ped, Pod ("Foot")
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Commonly Confused Words, List 4
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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:
It appears “investors have the pedal to the metal” at borrowing to invest in the stock market, said Opsal.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
The brake pedal wasn’t applied in the final minute before the crash occurred, the affidavit said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
The motor on display features sensors that continuously monitor the cyclist's movements and terrain conditions, allowing AI to automatically adjust the motor's assistance to the pedal drive.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
There is considerable excitement at the moment, as there are indications this is changing - as if "someone is taking their foot off the pedal".
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
Inside was an old-fashioned sewing machine, the kind operated by a foot pedal.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Just a few days earlier, U.S. regulators proposed nixing rules requiring manual brake pedals in autonomous vehicles.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
Among them is 52-year-old Harish Chandra, who pedals a cycle-rickshaw through Delhi's crowded streets until the heat becomes too much to bear.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
The most enthusiastic users have even bought programmable foot pedals, a gaming accessory, so they can activate Wispr with their toes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026
Also’s engineers have worked to mimic the feeling of riding a real bike and shifting gears even without a chain connecting the pedals to the wheels.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
He worked the wheel and rudder pedals to make it float down slowly and easily.
From "The River" by Gary Paulsen
"It's a great honour to receive the fantastic prize and I look forward to being pedaled around all of the media studios to air my story," said Mr Can.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025
We had doubts as we pedaled off from the Pacific Coast cliffs and onto our summer bicycle route across America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2025
Middle Ranch met up with Airport Road, where I turned right and pedaled to Stagecoach Road.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2025
On 1 July 2023, as Tour de France riders pedaled out of Bilbao, Spain, toward the French Pyrenees mountains, sports cardiologist Andre La Gerche tuned in from Melbourne, Australia.
From Science Magazine ● May 14, 2024
As soon as Lauren pedaled away, Maya went inside.
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
The breakfast show presenter pedalled the two-seater through England, Wales and Scotland, from Weymouth, Dorset, arriving to roaring crowds at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium on 20 March.
From BBC ● May 6, 2026
Most days, Mr. Voiles said, he pedalled the animals up to a hill above the Mississippi River where he braids crosses, fleurs-de-lis and other items, which he sells to pay for pet food and rent.
From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2024
Covering approximately 100 km each day, Barry pedalled through Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, and Niger before stalling in N'Djamena, the Chadian capital, shaken from his planned route by an ongoing conflict in Sudan.
From Reuters ● Sep. 28, 2023
Instagram also pedalled some of this year’s less practical trends.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 31, 2019
The other pedalled its narrow shoulders up and down, stalking the open door.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
In the process, he broke his own record for pedaling up the iconic Col du Tormalet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
“This is my favorite place in the world, no matter what the crowds are like,” he said before pedaling off.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
Riders can choose an electric-assist level that makes pedaling easier or harder.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
Last year represented something of a boon era for vendors pedaling AI apps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
Then, there he was, popping from the woods, pedaling furiously straight at her, the donut box flying in the basket.
From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli
"I'm just kicking myself because I had to stop pedalling with 20 metres to the line. It is what it is."
From Barron's ● Jan. 21, 2026
Lambie, 33, says the only similarity to cycling is that the cyclors are pedalling in the same motion as on a regular bike.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2024
Sitting on a bike and pedalling is something Simon van Velthooven has done for countless kilometres and hours during his cycling career.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2024
The Department for Transport is consulting on the proposals which would also allow e-bikes that don't require pedalling to travel much faster.
From BBC ● Feb. 29, 2024
Eric was squealing louder than ever and pedalling the air with his legs.
From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl
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.
