Meaning & use
a tricycle
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A vehicle with three wheels, usually moved by pedals.
Grammar: Countable: 'a tricycle', 'two tricycles'. Often shortened to 'trike' in informal use.
Patterns
- ride a tricycle
- a child's tricycle
The little boy rode his tricycle around the garden.
She bought a tricycle for her granddaughter's third birthday.
Tricycles are safer for toddlers because they don't tip over easily.
nouncountable
A three-wheeled motorcycle or scooter, often used by adults.
Grammar: Countable. In this sense, it often refers to a motorized vehicle.
Patterns
- a motorized tricycle
- ride a tricycle
He uses a motorized tricycle to get around town.
Some delivery companies use tricycles for short trips.
Word forms
| plural | tricycles |
|---|
Common combinations
- ride a tricycle
- She learned to ride a tricycle at age three.
- a child's tricycle
- The child's tricycle has a bright red frame.
- pedal a tricycle
- He pedaled his tricycle up the small hill.
- motorized tricycle
- A motorized tricycle can be easier for people with balance problems.
Synonyms and how they differ
- trike
- Informal short form of tricycle; common in everyday speech but less formal.
Word family
- tricyclist noun
- A person who rides a tricycle.
Commonly confused: a tricycle or bicycle? a tricycle or unicycle?
a tricycle vs bicycle
A bicycle has two wheels, while a tricycle has three. People often confuse the prefixes 'bi-' (two) and 'tri-' (three).
a tricycle vs unicycle
A unicycle has only one wheel, not three.
Practice
How many wheels does a tricycle have?
Choose one answer.
The prefix 'tri-' means three, so a tricycle has three wheels. A bicycle has two, and a unicycle has one.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a tricycle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.