bicycle
Syllables: bi·cy·cle/ˈbaɪsɪk(ə)l/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
South Asia/baj.sajkɪl/
bicycle noun: a vehicle that has two primary wheels, one behind the other, a steering handle, and a saddle seat or seats and is usually propelled by the action of a rider’s feet upon pedals.
Noun
bicycle (plural bicycles)
- A vehicle that has two primary wheels, one behind the other, a steering handle, and a saddle seat or seats and is usually propelled by the action of a rider’s feet upon pedals.
- In most English villages, as we are informed, bicycles are not allowed on the sidewalks; and the hand-books issued by English manufacturers of bicycles caution their customers that it is a forbidden practice, while in many places bells have to be attached to the bicycles even when ridden in the...1882, “Principle in Small Things”, in Popular Science Monthly, volume 22, page 274
- Synonyms:
- bike, pushbike, two-wheeler, velocipede
- Any similar vehicle powered by human pedaling or steered with a handlebar, regardless of the number of wheels.
- The small, three-wheeled bicycle-type vehicle is probably the lowest-cost set of wheels for routine, in-park patrol use.1980, United States. National Park Service, Trends, page 40
- A traveling block used on a cable in skidding logs.
- The best possible hand in lowball.
- A motorbike.
- A slut; a promiscuous woman.
- ‘What sort of bullying does this sergeant go in for?’ ‘Character assassination,’ she said in a matter-of-fact tone that belied the very real difficulties it was causing her. ‘There’s a lot of whispering about slags and tarts behind my back and sniggers whenever I appear. Half of the men seem to...2002, Minette Walters, Fox Evil, Macmillan, pages 162–3
- Synonyms:
- town bicycle, village bicycle
- A stabilizing technique in which one foot is pushed down while the other is pulled up.
- The wheel: either the lowest straight (A-2-3-4-5) or the best low hand in Lowball or High-low poker.
- A bicyclic molecule.
- Two interconnected metabolic cycles.
- The fumarate produced in the argininosuccinase reaction is also an intermediate of the citric acid cycle. Thus, the cycles are, in principle, interconnected — in a process dubbed the “Krebs bicycle”.2021, David L. Nelson, Michael M. Cox, Aaron A. Hoskins, Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry, Macmillan Learning, page 636
Verb
bicycle (third-person singular simple present bicycles, present participle bicycling, simple past and past participle bicycled)
- To travel or exercise using a bicycle.
- “At least it cannot be your health," said he, as his keen eyes darted over her; "so ardent a bicyclist must be full of energy.” […] “Yes, I bicycle a good deal, Mr. Holmes, and that has something to do with my visit to you to-day.”1903 December 26, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC
- To physically ship (a recorded programme) to another broadcasting entity.
- “Bicycling” defeated the possibility of topicality, a prime production habit of the network-trained production executives staffing the new entity.2002, Roger Phillips Smith, The Other Face of Public Television, page 56
- In turn, two-inch tapes of these could be “bicycled” from one place to another across the country, thereby altering and improving production economies.2014, Horace Newcomb, Encyclopedia of Television, page 177
bicycle meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
bicycle in Hindi
- vehicle
- साइकिल sāikil, साइकल sāikal, पैरगाड़ी pairgāṛī
bicycle in Tamil
- vehicle
- மிதிவண்டி mitivaṇṭi, சைக்கிள் caikkiḷ
- to ride a bicycle
- மிதிவண்டி ஓட்டு mitivaṇṭi ōṭṭu, சைக்கிள் ஓட்டு caikkiḷ ōṭṭu
bicycle in Marathi
- vehicle
- सायकल sāykal
bicycle in Urdu
- vehicle
- سائِیکِل sāīkil, بائِیسِکَل bāīsikal
More languagesFewer languages
- bicycle in Bengali
- ঠেংগাড়ী ṭheṅgaṛi, সাইকেল śaikel
- bicycle in Telugu
- సైకిలు saikilu
- bicycle in Malayalam
- സൈക്കിൾ saikkiḷ
- bicycle in Kannada
- ಸೈಕಲ್ saikal, ಇಗ್ಗಾಲಿ iggāli, ದ್ವಿಚಕ್ರ dvicakra, ಕಾಲುಬಂಡಿ kālubaṇḍi
- bicycle in Punjabi
- ਸਾਈਕਲ sāīkal
- bicycle in Gujarati
- સાઇકલ sāikal, પાયગાડી pāyagāḍī
- bicycle in Odia
- ସାଇକେଲ sāikela
- bicycle in Sanskrit
- द्विचक्रिका dvicakrikā
- bicycle in Sinhala
- බයිසිකලය bayisikalaya, පාපැදි pāpædi
- bicycle in Assamese
- চাইকেল saikel
- bicycle in Nepali
- साइकल sāikal
- bicycle in Pashto
- جولا ګاډی jolā gāday, بايسکل bāyskel, سايکل sāykal
- bicycle in Tagalog
- bisikleta
- bicycle in Arabic
- دَرَّاجَة darrāja, بسْكليت baskalēt, بِسِكْليت bisiklētt, بِسْكْلات bisklāt
- bicycle in Malay
- basikal, kereta angin, sepeda, pit
- bicycle in Indonesian
- sepeda, pit, kereta angin, bersepeda
- bicycle in Thai
- จักรยาน jàk-grà-yaan, รถถีบ rót-tìip
- bicycle in Vietnamese
- xe đạp, đạp xe
- bicycle in Myanmar
- စက်ဘီး cakbhi:, ဘိုင်စကယ် bhuingca.kai
- Sindhi
- سائيڪل sāekl
- Dhivehi
- ބައިސްކަލު baiskalu
Examples of bicycle in a sentence
- If you want to buy a bicycle, you need to put the money in your piggy bank.
- You should chain your bicycle to the railings to protect it from being stolen.
- The distance between the lowest and next gear on my bicycle is annoying.
Synonyms of bicycle
Forms of bicycle
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | bicycles |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | bicycles |
| present participle | bicycling |
| past participle | bicycled |
| past | bicycled |
Origin of bicycle
Borrowed from French bicycle (modern bicyclette), from bi- (“two”) + cycle (“cycle”). By surface analysis, bi- + cycle. First attested in English in 1868, and in French in 1847. (promiscuous woman): From double meaning of ride ("to transport oneself upon" vs. "to mount someone to have sex with them"). A communal bicycle would have many riders.
Words formed from bicycle
- antibicycle
- autobicycle
- a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle
- a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle
- balance bicycle
- bicyclable
- bicycle bridge
- bicycle carrier
- bicycle chain
- bicycle clip
- bicycle crunch
- bicycle face
- bicycle fork
- bicycle gear
- bicycle helmet
- bicycle Irish
- bicycle kick
- bicycle landing gear
- bicycle lane
- bicyclelike
- bicycle mail
- bicycle monarchy
- bicycle motocross
- bicycle path
- bicycle pump
- bicycler
- bicycle rack
- bicycle roundabout
- bicycle shorts
- bicycle speedway
- bicycle stand
- bicycle tire
- bicycle touring
- bicycle tourist
- bicycle wrench
- bicyclian
- bicyclism
- bicyclist
- cargo bicycle
- Christ on a bicycle
- e-bicycle
- electric bicycle
- exercise bicycle
- exercycle
- fandom bicycle
- fixed-gear bicycle
- freight bicycle
- ghost bicycle
- gravel bicycle
- like riding a bicycle
- lowrider bicycle
- motorbicycle
- mountain bicycle
- push bicycle
- recumbent bicycle
- ride the cotton bicycle
- road bicycle
- safety bicycle
- stationary bicycle
- tandem bicycle
Phrases with bicycle
- town bicycle
- bicycle clips
- bicycle faces
- bicycle gears
- bicycle kicks
- bicycle lanes
- bicycle paths
- bicycle pumps
- bicycle racks
- bicycle tires
- water bicycle
- bicycle chains
21 more phrasesFewer phrases
- bicycle kicked
- bicycle stands
- bicycle bridges
- bicycle helmets
- bicycle kicking
- touring bicycle
- upright bicycle
- village bicycle
- bicycle carriers
- bicycle crunches
- bicycle wrenches
- bicycle speedways
- bicycle monarchies
- time trial bicycle
- bicycle roundabouts
- single-speed bicycle
- bicycle landing gears
- rode the cotton bicycle
- rides the cotton bicycle
- ridden the cotton bicycle
- riding the cotton bicycle
Questions about bicycle
- What does bicycle mean?
- Bicycle means a vehicle that has two primary wheels, one behind the other, a steering handle, and a saddle seat or seats and is usually propelled by the action of a rider’s feet upon pedals.
- What is bicycle in Hindi?
- Bicycle in Hindi is साइकिल (sāikil), साइकल (sāikal), पैरगाड़ी (pairgāṛī). See Bicycle meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is bicycle?
- Bicycle can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce bicycle?
- Bicycle is pronounced /ˈbaɪsɪk(ə)l/.
- What is the plural of bicycle?
- The plural of bicycle is bicycles.
Words near bicycle in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: bicycle (page history and authors); চাইকেল (Assamese) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-bicycle.ogg, En-uk-a bicycle.ogg, EN-AU ck1 bicycle.ogg.
Cite this entry: “bicycle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/bicycle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.