motorcycle
verbEtymology From motor + cycle, from the Motorcyclette produced in 1897 by the French Werner Frères et Cie.
1
To ride a motorcycle.
motorcycle
nounUK /ˈməʊtəˌsaɪkəl/ · US /ˈmoʊtɚˌsaɪkəl/
Etymology From motor + cycle, from the Motorcyclette produced in 1897 by the French Werner Frères et Cie.
1
An open-seated motor vehicle with handlebars instead of a steering wheel, and having two (or sometimes three) wheels.
- Her big mission is to recover the precious Blue Star (a glowing rock in a box), which leads to a Western shoot-out, a space-age motorcycle gang, and an unamusing Darth Vader-esque villain.1995 October 23, Steven Puchalski, “Can these sci-fi videos show us the Woman of the Future?”, in Sci Fi Entertainment, page 36:
- That last problem did intrude on Hazzard’s roamings, and when she refers to the living city it is with periodic references to thefts of cars and wallets, with a warning not to carry anything “snatchable” by the thieves on motorcycles who whiz through the streets. Her husband, Francis Steegmuller, the critic, translator and biographer who died in 1994, had a bag snatched, and while he lost only a guidebook, he was badly injured as he held on to it and was dragged behind the attacking motorcycle.2009 February 15, Judith Martin, “It Started in Naples”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 16 Jun 2022:
2 more examples
- Vern rubbed her hands along the motorcycles, admiring their size and power, their silver and black sleekness.2021, Rivers Solomon, Sorrowland, #Merky Books, page 43:
- Her breakout was the 2017 production “Nate” (available as a Netflix special) in which she played a toxic, handsy bro who drove a motorcycle onstage, guzzling beers, groping audience members and creating chaos.2025 October 7, Jason Zinoman, “What Clowns! (That’s a Compliment)”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 07 Oct 2025:
- Synonyms
- bike, chopper, cycle, moped, motorbicycle, motorbike, autobike, autobicycle
- Derived terms
- boatercycle, donorcycle, e-motorcycle, moto-cross, motorcycle club, motorcycler, motorcycle sport, motorcycle taxi, motorcycling, motorcyclist, nonmotorcycle, touring motorcycle
- Related terms
- scooter