Meaning & use
moped
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Meanings
nouncountable
A small motorcycle with pedals and a low-power engine.
Grammar: Countable: a moped, two mopeds. Often used for short trips in cities.
Patterns
- ride a moped
- on a moped
She rides her moped to work every day.
They rented mopeds to explore the island.
verbintransitive
Past tense of 'mope': was sad and inactive.
Grammar: No object; often followed by 'around' or 'about'. This sense is less common than the vehicle.
Patterns
- moped around
- moped about
He moped around the house all weekend after his team lost.
She moped about for days when her friend moved away.
Word forms
| plural | mopeds |
|---|
Common combinations
- ride a moped
- You need a license to ride a moped on the road.
- electric moped
- Electric mopeds are becoming popular in big cities.
- moped accident
- He was in a moped accident last year but recovered fully.
- moped rental
- The shop offers moped rental for tourists.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scooter
- A scooter is similar but typically has no pedals and a step-through frame; mopeds have pedals.
- motorcycle
- A motorcycle is larger and more powerful; a moped is smaller and low-powered.
Word family
Commonly confused: moped or mopped?
moped vs mopped
Past tense of 'mop' (cleaning). 'Moped' (vehicle) is pronounced /ˈmoʊped/; 'mopped' is /mɒpt/.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'moped' correctly as a vehicle?
Choose one answer.
The vehicle sense is a noun: 'rode his moped'. Option 3 uses 'moped' as a verb incorrectly; option 4 is confusing because 'moped' as a verb means 'was sad'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “moped”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.