Meaning & use
monocycle
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Meaning
nouncountable
A vehicle with one wheel that the rider balances on, especially a unicycle or a historical enclosed single-wheeled machine.
Grammar: Countable: say a monocycle, the monocycle, or monocycles. It is less common than unicycle.
Patterns
- ride a monocycle
- on a monocycle
- a monocycle wheel
He learned to ride a monocycle in the schoolyard.
The museum has a Victorian monocycle with a large wooden wheel.
She balanced on the monocycle and pedaled slowly forward.
Word forms
| plural | monocycles |
|---|
Common combinations
- ride a monocycle
- Can you ride a monocycle?
- a monocycle wheel
- The monocycle wheel spun in the air.
- on a monocycle
- He performed tricks on a monocycle.
- a historical monocycle
- A historical monocycle from 1870 is on display.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unicycle
- Unicycle is the usual everyday word for a one-wheeled cycle; monocycle is rarer and can also refer to old enclosed machines.
Word family
- monocyclist noun
- A person who rides a monocycle; very rare.
Commonly confused: monocycle or motorcycle? monocycle or bicycle?
monocycle vs motorcycle
A motorcycle has two wheels and an engine; a monocycle has one wheel and is usually pedal-powered.
monocycle vs bicycle
A bicycle has two wheels; a monocycle has only one.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'monocycle' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A monocycle has one wheel and is balanced, so 'balanced on a monocycle with a single wheel' fits. The others describe vehicles with two, four, or engine power, which are not monocycles.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “monocycle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.