Meaning & use
bicycle
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A vehicle with two wheels that you ride by pushing pedals and steer with handlebars.
Grammar: Countable; use 'a bicycle' or 'bicycles' for more than one.
Patterns
- ride a bicycle
- on a bicycle
- by bicycle
She rides her bicycle to work every day.
He got a new bicycle for his birthday.
They traveled around the city by bicycle.
verbintransitive
To ride a bicycle.
Grammar: No object; often used in the pattern 'bicycle to somewhere'.
Patterns
- bicycle to somewhere
- go bicycling
We bicycled to the beach last weekend.
She bicycles to school when the weather is nice.
Word forms
| plural | bicycles |
|---|---|
| third person singular | bicycles |
| past tense | bicycled |
| past participle | bicycled |
| -ing form | bicycling |
Common combinations
- ride a bicycle
- He learned to ride a bicycle when he was five.
- on a bicycle
- She arrived on a bicycle.
- by bicycle
- They prefer to travel by bicycle.
- bicycle lane
- The city added a new bicycle lane downtown.
- bicycle helmet
- Always wear a bicycle helmet.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- bicyclist noun
- A person who rides a bicycle.
- bicycling noun
- The activity of riding a bicycle.
Commonly confused: bicycle or bike?
bicycle vs bike
Bike can mean a bicycle or a motorcycle; bicycle always means the pedal-powered two-wheeler.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
We say 'ride a bicycle' without a preposition. 'Ride on a bicycle' is possible but less common; 'by bicycle' is used for the means of transport, e.g., 'go by bicycle'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bicycle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.