Word.ws English Dictionary

bottom bracket

bottom bracket noun: a bicycle part that connects the crankset (chainset) to the frame and allows the crankset to rotate freely.

bottom bracket: a bicycle part that connects the crankset (chainset) to the frame and allows the crankset to rotate...
Image: Jberkel, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

bottom bracket (plural bottom brackets)

  1. A bicycle part that connects the crankset (chainset) to the frame and allows the crankset to rotate freely.
    • The chances are excellent that some of the material will fall down the seat tube and get into the bottom bracket, where it will make mincemeat of your crankset bearings (thought seats were simple, hah?).1972, Richard Ballantine, Richard's Bicycle Book, New York: Ballantine Books, page 139
    • Crucial to the crankset is the bottom bracket. Of all the bearings on a bike, the bottom bracket is the one that has to bear the heaviest load. Not only does the bottom bracket have to spin while you pedal, but it takes the force of all the twisting and turning that occurs during pedaling.2009, Dennis Bailey, Keith Gates, Bike Repair and Maintenance For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN
    Synonyms:
    BB

Synonyms of bottom bracket

Forms of bottom bracket

pluralbottom brackets

Origin of bottom bracket

From earlier bicycle designs, when it was a separate piece bolted onto the bottom of the frame. In modern designs the bottom bracket shell (or housing) is an integral part of the frame.

Questions about bottom bracket

What does bottom bracket mean?
Bottom bracket means a bicycle part that connects the crankset (chainset) to the frame and allows the crankset to rotate freely.
What part of speech is bottom bracket?
Bottom bracket is a noun.
What is the plural of bottom bracket?
The plural of bottom bracket is bottom brackets.

Words near bottom bracket in the dictionary

  1. bottom aged
  2. bottom antiquark
  3. bottom antiquarks
  4. bottom bitch
  5. bottom bitches
  6. bottom bracket
  7. bottom brackets
  8. bottom burp
  9. bottom burps
  10. bottom dead center
  11. bottom disease

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: bottom bracket (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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-bottom bracket.wav.

Cite this entry: “bottom bracket.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/bottom_bracket. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.