Bicycle vs. Cycle — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on October 13, 2023
A bicycle is a two-wheeled vehicle powered by pedaling, while cycle can refer to a series of events that repeat in a specific order or to a generic term for a bike.
Difference Between Bicycle and Cycle
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A bicycle is specifically a two-wheeled vehicle that one rides by pedaling. On the other hand, cycle is a broader term which, when referred to a vehicle, can mean a bicycle, tricycle, or even a motorcycle.
The joy of riding a bicycle is something many experience in childhood. In a broader sense, life itself is often described as a cycle of birth, growth, decay, and rebirth.
While every bicycle is a cycle, not every cycle is a bicycle. A cycle could be any sequence of events or processes that repeat themselves in the same order.
A bicycle is a tangible, physical object. In contrast, the term cycle can also be used abstractly, describing phenomena like the water cycle or the business cycle.
When someone says they are going for a ride on their bicycle, you can picture the specific two-wheeled vehicle. When someone mentions a cycle, without context, the interpretation can be varied, from a series of events to a mode of transport.
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Comparison Chart
Meaning
A two-wheeled vehicle powered by pedaling.
A series of events in order or a general term for a bike.
Context
Specific to two-wheeled pedal vehicles.
Broad, varying from sequences of events to types of bikes.
Interchangeability
Always refers to a two-wheeled vehicle.
Context determines its meaning.
Physical Object
Yes.
Can be, but also refers to abstract sequences.
Examples
Mountain bike, road bike.
Water cycle, menstrual cycle, bicycle, tricycle.
Compare with Definitions
Bicycle
A two-wheeled vehicle for riding.
I ride my bicycle to school every day.
Cycle
A sequence of events that repeat in a specific order.
The moon goes through a cycle of phases.
Bicycle
A pedal-driven conveyance with a seat.
He gifted her a new red bicycle for her birthday.
Cycle
A series of actions or processes that recur regularly.
The economic cycle affects businesses and consumers alike.
Bicycle
A lightweight vehicle with handlebars for steering.
The old bicycle in the garage has a flat tire.
Cycle
A complete set or series.
The life cycle of a butterfly is fascinating.
Bicycle
A manually powered means of travel on two wheels.
Touring the countryside on a bicycle is his favorite activity.
Cycle
A general term for a bike or similar vehicle.
I parked my cycle outside the store.
Bicycle
A bicycle, also called a bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A bicycle rider is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Cycle
An interval of time during which a characteristic, often regularly repeated event or sequence of events occurs
Sunspots increase and decrease in intensity in an 11-year cycle.
Bicycle
A vehicle consisting of a light frame mounted on two typically wire-spoked wheels one behind the other and usually having a seat, handlebars for steering, brakes, and two pedals by which it is driven.
Cycle
A single complete execution of a periodically repeated phenomenon
A year constitutes a cycle of the seasons.
Bicycle
An exercise bicycle.
Cycle
A periodically repeated sequence of events
The cycle of birth, growth, and death.
A cycle of reprisal and retaliation.
Bicycle
To ride or travel on a bicycle.
Cycle
The orbit of a celestial body.
Bicycle
A vehicle that has two wheels, one behind the other, a steering handle, and a saddle seat or seats and is usually propelled by the action of a rider’s feet upon pedals.
Cycle
A long period of time; an age.
Bicycle
A traveling block used on a cable in skidding logs.
Cycle
The aggregate of traditional poems or stories organized around a central theme or hero
The Arthurian cycle.
Bicycle
The best possible hand in lowball.
Cycle
A series of poems or songs on the same theme
Schubert's song cycles.
Bicycle
A motorbike.
Cycle
A bicycle, motorcycle, or similar vehicle.
Bicycle
A slut; a promiscuous woman.
Cycle
(Botany) A circular or whorled arrangement of flower parts such as those of petals or sepals.
Bicycle
(climbing) A stabilizing technique in which one foot is pushed down while the other is pulled up.
Cycle
(Baseball) The achievement of hitting a single, double, triple, and home run in a single game.
Bicycle
(ambitransitive) To travel or exercise using a bicycle.
Cycle
To occur in or pass through a cycle.
Bicycle
To physically ship (a recorded programme) to another broadcasting entity.
Cycle
To move in or as if in a cycle.
Bicycle
A light vehicle having two wheels one behind the other. It has a saddle seat and is propelled by the rider's feet acting on cranks or levers.
Cycle
To ride a bicycle, motorcycle, or similar vehicle.
Bicycle
A wheeled vehicle that has two wheels and is moved by foot pedals
Cycle
To use in or put through a cycle
Cycled the heavily soiled laundry twice.
Cycling the recruits through eight weeks of basic training.
Bicycle
Ride a bicycle
Cycle
An interval of space or time in which one set of events or phenomena is completed.
The cycle of the seasons, or of the year
Bicycle
A mode of transportation with two wheels in tandem.
She decided to buy a bicycle to commute to work.
Cycle
A complete rotation of anything.
Cycle
A process that returns to its beginning and then repeats itself in the same sequence.
Electoral cycle
Menstrual cycle
News cycle
Cycle
The members of the sequence formed by such a process.
Cycle
(music) In musical set theory, an interval cycle is the set of pitch classes resulting from repeatedly applying the same interval class to the starting pitch class.
The interval cycle C4 consists of the pitch classes 0, 4 and 8; when starting on E, it is realised as the pitches E, G# and C.
Cycle
A series of poems, songs or other works of art, typically longer than a trilogy.
The "Ring of the Nibelung" is a cycle of four operas by Richard Wagner.
Cycle
A programme on a washing machine, dishwasher, or other such device.
Put the washing in on a warm cycle.
The spin cycle
Cycle
A pedal-powered vehicle, such as a unicycle, bicycle, or tricycle, or a motorized vehicle that has either two or three wheels.
Cycle
(baseball) A single, a double, a triple, and a home run hit by the same player in the same game.
Jones hit for the cycle in the game.
Cycle
(graph theory) A closed walk or path, with or without repeated vertices allowed.
Cycle
A chain whose boundary is zero.
Cycle
An imaginary circle or orbit in the heavens; one of the celestial spheres.
Cycle
An age; a long period of time.
Cycle
An orderly list for a given time; a calendar.
Cycle
(botany) One entire round in a circle or a spire.
Cycle
(weaponry) A discharge of a taser.
Cycle
(aviation) One take-off and landing of an aircraft, referring to a pressurisation cycle which places stresses on the fuselage.
Cycle
To ride a bicycle or other cycle.
Cycle
To go through a cycle or to put through a cycle.
Cycle
(electronics) To turn power off and back on
Avoid cycling the device unnecessarily.
Cycle
(ice hockey) To maintain a team's possession of the puck in the offensive zone by handling and passing the puck in a loop from the boards near the goal up the side boards and passing to back to the boards near the goal
They have their cycling game going tonight.
Cycle
An imaginary circle or orbit in the heavens; one of the celestial spheres.
Cycle
An interval of time in which a certain succession of events or phenomena is completed, and then returns again and again, uniformly and continually in the same order; a periodical space of time marked by the recurrence of something peculiar; as, the cycle of the seasons, or of the year.
Wages . . . bear a full proportion . . . to the medium of provision during the last bad cycle of twenty years.
Cycle
An age; a long period of time.
Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay.
Cycle
An orderly list for a given time; a calendar.
We . . . present our gardeners with a complete cycle of what is requisite to be done throughout every month of the year.
Cycle
The circle of subjects connected with the exploits of the hero or heroes of some particular period which have served as a popular theme for poetry, as the legend of Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, and that of Charlemagne and his paladins.
Cycle
One entire round in a circle or a spire; as, a cycle or set of leaves.
Cycle
A bicycle or tricycle, or other light velocipede.
Cycle
A motorcycle.
Cycle
A series of operations in which heat is imparted to (or taken away from) a working substance which by its expansion gives up a part of its internal energy in the form of mechanical work (or being compressed increases its internal energy) and is again brought back to its original state.
Cycle
A complete positive and negative, or forward and reverse, action of any periodic process, such as a vibration, an electric field oscillation, or a current alternation; one period.
Cycle
To pass through a cycle{2} of changes; to recur in cycles.
Cycle
To ride a bicycle, tricycle, or other form of cycle.
Cycle
To cause to pass through a cycle{2}.
Cycle
An interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs;
The neverending cycle of the seasons
Cycle
A series of poems or songs on the same theme;
Schubert's song cycles
Cycle
A periodically repeated sequence of events;
A cycle of reprisal and retaliation
Cycle
The unit of frequency; one Hertz has a periodic interval of one second
Cycle
A single complete execution of a periodically repeated phenomenon;
A year constitutes a cycle of the seasons
Cycle
A wheeled vehicle that has two wheels and is moved by foot pedals
Cycle
Cause to go through a recurring sequence;
Cycle thge laundry in this washing program
Cycle
Pass through a cycle;
This machine automatically cycles
Cycle
Ride a motorcycle
Cycle
Ride a bicycle
Cycle
Recur in repeating sequences
Cycle
An interval in which a recurring sequence of events happens.
The laundry cycle takes about an hour.
Common Curiosities
Can the term cycle refer to motor-powered vehicles?
Yes, in some contexts, cycle can refer to motorcycles.
Is bicycle specific to a two-wheeled vehicle?
Yes, a bicycle specifically denotes a two-wheeled pedal vehicle.
Is every bicycle a cycle?
Yes, every bicycle is a type of cycle.
Are tricycles considered bicycles?
No, tricycles are not bicycles, but they are a type of cycle.
How does the life cycle relate to a bicycle?
The term life cycle is an abstract concept, while a bicycle is a physical object. They're related only by the word "cycle."
Can cycle refer to abstract concepts?
Yes, cycle can refer to sequences like the water cycle or business cycle.
Are all cycles vehicles?
No, while a cycle can be a vehicle, it can also refer to recurring sequences of events.
Can the word cycle relate to nature?
Yes, terms like the water cycle or life cycle relate to natural processes.
Can cycle and bicycle be used interchangeably?
Not always. While all bicycles are cycles, not all cycles are bicycles.
What's a common bicycle type?
A common type of bicycle is the mountain bike, while cycle can refer to various bike types.
Is every two-wheeled vehicle a bicycle?
No, for instance, a motorcycle is a two-wheeled vehicle but not a bicycle. Both are types of cycles.
Is a unicycle a bicycle?
No, a unicycle is not a bicycle, but it is a type of cycle.
Do all cycles have pedals?
No, while a bicycle always has pedals, not all cycles (like motorcycles) do.
Which is broader in meaning, bicycle or cycle?
Cycle has a broader meaning, encompassing sequences of events and various vehicles.
Does the term bicycle have abstract meanings?
No, bicycle specifically refers to a two-wheeled pedal vehicle, whereas cycle can have abstract meanings.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
