bicycle
I ride my bicycle to work.
A vehicle with two wheels that you ride by pushing its pedals with your feet.
I ride my bicycle to work.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
bicycle
(also informal) bike) noun
a vehicle with two wheels. You sit on a bicycle and move your legs to make the wheels turn:
Can you ride a bicycle?
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
bicycle
I. bi‧cy‧cle1 W3 /ˈbaɪsɪkəl/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 1800-1900; Language: French; Origin: bi- + -cycle (as in tricycle)]
a vehicle with two wheels that you ride by pushing its ↑pedals with your feet SYN bike:
Can James ride a bicycle yet? ⇨ ↑exercise bike
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say bike rather than bicycle:
▪ They go everywhere by bike.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ ride a bicycle Riding a bicycle is very good exercise.
▪ get on/off a bicycle I got on my bicycle and cycled over to Rob’s house.
▪ push/wheel a bicycle (=walk beside it pushing it) She was wheeling her bicycle and talking to some friends.
■ bicycle + NOUN
▪ a bicycle shop (also bicycle store American English) His dream was to own a bicycle shop.
▪ a bicycle ride They went for a 50 km bicycle ride.
▪ a bicycle wheel/tyre My front bicycle tyre is flat.
▪ a bicycle pump (=for putting more air in a tyre) Where’s the bicycle pump?
▪ a bicycle helmet It’s safer to wear a bicycle helmet.
▪ a bicycle shed (=place for keeping bicycles in) He built a bicycle shed in the back yard.
II. bicycle2 BrE AmE verb [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]
formal to go somewhere by bicycle SYN bike, cycle
—bicyclist noun [countable]
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
bicycle
bi·cycle [bicycle bicycles bicycled bicycling] noun, verb [ˈbaɪsɪkl] [ˈbaɪsɪkl]
noun
(also informal bike)
a road vehicle with two wheels that you ride by pushing the pedals with your feet
• He got on his bicycle and rode off.
• We went for a bicycle ride on Sunday.
Word Origin:
mid 19th cent.: from bi- ‘two’ + Greek kuklos ‘wheel’.
Example Bank:
• Did you come by bicycle?
• He mounted his bicycle and rode off.
• I dismounted and began to push my bicycle up the hill.
• She came off her bicycle when it skidded on some wet leaves.
• She pedalled her bicycle up the track.
• She tried to pedal her bicycle up the track.
• We watched the boys on their bicycles.
verb intransitive (+ adv./prep.) (old-fashioned)
to go somewhere on a bicycle
compare bike, cycle
Verb forms:
Word Origin:
mid 19th cent.: from bi- ‘two’ + Greek kuklos ‘wheel’.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
bicycle
bicycle /ˈbaɪ.sɪ.kļ/
noun [C]
a two-wheeled vehicle that you sit on and move by turning the two pedals (= flat parts you press with your feet):
I go to work by bicycle.
He got on his bicycle and rode off.
You should never ride your bicycle without lights at night.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
bicycle
/baɪsɪk(ə)l/
(bicycles)
A bicycle is a vehicle with two wheels which you ride by sitting on it and pushing two pedals with your feet. You steer it by turning a bar that is connected to the front wheel.
= bike
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
1bi·cy·cle /ˈbaɪsɪkəl/ noun, pl -cy·cles [count] : a 2-wheeled vehicle that a person rides by pushing on foot pedals
• She rode her bicycle [=bike] to school.
• They toured Europe on bicycles. = They toured Europe by bicycle.
• Let's go for a bicycle ride [=ride our bicycles for pleasure] after work tonight.
