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training wheels

American  

noun

(used with a plural verb)

  1. a pair of small wheels attached one on each side of the rear wheel of a bicycle for stability while one is learning to ride.

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.

"You can think of the fetal globin gene as the training wheels on a kid's bike," says Prof. Crossley.

From Science Daily • Jan. 5, 2026

Then, in September 2025, the training wheels came off.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 20, 2025

I said, ‘You’re doing more than fine. The training wheels have come off. It’s time for you to ride.’

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2024

After dinner, Walley helped La’Riah practice riding a bike with no training wheels.

From Seattle Times • May 14, 2023

Zayd doesn’t properly know how to ride a two-wheeler yet, since Baba just took off his training wheels last weekend.

From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan

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.