bicycle

bicycle — noun

1. a small vehicle with a seat, handlebars, and two wheels that the rider makes mov

1.nounA2
Definition

a small vehicle with a seat, handlebars, and two wheels that the rider makes move by pressing foot pedals

Example

Lena locked her bicycle outside the library before her English class.

collocation: lock a bicycle

A blue bicycle stood beside the park gate after the rain.

Common collocations
  • ride a bicycle
  • lock a bicycle
  • bicycle helmet
  • bicycle lane
  • bicycle rack
Synonyms
  • bike

    the usual shorter informal word in everyday speech

  • cycle

    common in British English and in transport or sport contexts

  • pedal bike

    used when contrasting it with a motorbike or an e-bike

Grammar Patterns

ride a bicycle

on a bicycle

by bicycle

Usage Note

Bike is the shorter informal word heard more often in everyday conversation. Bicycle is neutral and common in signs, rules, and more careful speech.

Common Mistakes

I go to school by my bicycle.
I go to school by bicycle.' / 'I go to school on my bicycle.
after by, English uses the transport word without my, a, or the.

bicycle — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For the main noun sense, bicycle is the neutral full form. Bike is the shorter everyday word and is often what people say in casual conversation. Cycle can mean the same thing, but it is heard more often in British English and in sport or transport writing. E-bike is not the same as bicycle, because it specifically means a bicycle with electric help for the rider. So a school rule may say no bicycles inside the building, while friends may say they parked their bikes outside. If someone rides with battery support up a steep hill, e-bike is the better word.

bicycle ↗bike ↗cycle ↗e-bike

Etymology

LatinGreekFrenchEnglish

Bicycle entered English in the nineteenth century from French bicycle. The French form joined bi-, meaning "two", with cycle, a word linked to the idea of a wheel or circle. The name was first used for the two-wheeled machine, and English later also used it as a verb for travelling on one.