cycle Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs
    round; rhythm.
    • the never-ending cycle of the seasons
  2. noun a series of poems or songs on the same theme
    • Schubert's song cycles
  3. noun a periodically repeated sequence of events
    • a cycle of reprisal and retaliation
  4. noun the unit of frequency; one hertz has a periodic interval of one second
    Hz; cycles/second; cycle per second; hertz; cps.
  5. noun a single complete execution of a periodically repeated phenomenon
    oscillation.
    • a year constitutes a cycle of the seasons
  6. noun a wheeled vehicle that has two wheels and is moved by foot pedals
    wheel; bike; bicycle.
  7. verb cause to go through a recurring sequence
    • cycle the laundry in this washing program
  8. verb pass through a cycle
    • This machine automatically cycles
  9. verb ride a motorcycle
    motorbike; motorcycle.
  10. verb ride a bicycle
    wheel; pedal; bike; bicycle.
  11. verb recur in repeating sequences

WordNet

Cy"cle noun
Etymology
F. ycle, LL. cyclus, fr. Gr. ring or circle, cycle; akin to Skr. cakra wheel, circle. See Wheel.
Definitions
  1. An imaginary circle or orbit in the heavens; one of the celestial spheres. Milton.
  2. 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 cucle 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. Burke.
  3. An age; a long period of time.
    Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay. Tennyson.
  4. An orderly list for a given time; a calendar. Obs.
    We . . . present our gardeners with a complete cycle of what is requisite to be done throughout every month of the year. Evelyn.
  5. The circle of subjects connected with the exploits of the hero or heroes of some particular period which have severed as a popular theme for poetry, as the legend aof Arthur and the knights of the Round Table, and that of Charlemagne and his paladins.
  6. (Bot.) One entire round in a circle or a spire; as, a cycle or set of leaves. Gray.
  7. A bicycle or tricycle, or other light velocipede.
Cy"cle intransitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Cycled present participle & verbal noun Cycling
Definitions
  1. To pass through a cycle of changes; to recur in cycles. Tennyson. Darwin.
  2. To ride a bicycle, tricycle, or other form of cycle.

Webster 1913