a vehicle with two wheels that you sit on and move forward by turning pedals with your feet; a bicycle
Ella rides her cycle to school every morning.
Please lock your cycle to the metal rack.
✦ Shortened form of “bicycle”, popularised in British English in the late 19th century as cycling became a pastime.
to travel somewhere by riding a bicycle
We decided to cycle along the river on Sunday.
He cycled ten miles to get to work.
✦ Verbal use from the noun ‘cycle’ (bicycle), first recorded in the 1880s with the rise of cycling clubs in Britain.
a series of events, actions, or changes that happen in the same order and keep repeating
The cycle of the seasons continues year after year.
Many insects go through a life cycle of egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
✦ From Greek ‘kyklos’ meaning ‘circle’ or ‘wheel’, adopted into Latin ‘cyclus’ and then Middle French before entering English in the 14th century.
to move or cause something to move through a series of repeated stages
Press the button to cycle through the different display modes.
The computer automatically cycles the back-up tasks every night.
✦ Extended technical use from the general noun sense of ‘cycle’, recorded in engineering contexts from the early 20th century.
a vehicle with two wheels that you move forward by pushing pedals with your feet
Maya rode her red bicycle to school on a bright spring morning.
A mechanic carefully fixed the chain on an old bicycle in his workshop.
✦ From French bicyclette, based on Latin roots bi- “two” and Greek kyklos “wheel”.
On weekends, the family bicycles along the river trail together.
Emma bicycled to the library because the buses were on strike.
✦ Verb use from the noun “bicycle”, first recorded in the late 19th century.
A road vehicle with two wheels driven by an internal combustion engine.
He rides his motorcycle to school every day.
She bought a red motorcycle for long trips.
✦ Late 19th century: from motor + cycle, referring to early motorized bicycles invented around 1885 by Gottlieb Daimler.
