three-speed
Americannoun
-
a system of gears having three forward gear ratios, especially on a bicycle.
-
a bicycle having such a system of gears.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of three-speed
First recorded in 1890–95
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.
In middle school, I rode to and from school on my Schwinn three-speed, books and band instrument hanging from my handlebars.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 30, 2024
The only set of wheels he could afford was a black, three-speed bicycle.
From New York Times ● Dec. 8, 2023
She began the self-funded journey some two decades later, on Jan. 14, 1963, on “Roz,” a 37-pound man’s bike stripped of its three-speed derailleur and loaded with basic supplies, including blank notebooks and a compass.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 7, 2022
The sturdy aluminium bikes have three-speed gears, a bell and a basket.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2020
The following day I bought a used three-speed for forty-five dollars and put the plan into effect.
From Take Me for a Ride: coming of age in a destructive cult by Mark Eliot Laxer
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.
