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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.

The bicycle course featured four small bikes with training wheels, only suitable for young children.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

"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

He was about to get the training wheels off his bike, about to lose his baby teeth, about to start playing soccer, about to be so many things.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 31, 2023

First day of school, the first time I lost a tooth, the first time I rode a bike without training wheels.

From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

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.