cycle
cycle — noun
1. A two-wheeled vehicle that you ride by pushing pedals with your feet.
A two-wheeled vehicle that you ride by pushing pedals with your feet.
Shirin parked her cycle outside the library and went in to study.
The red cycle next to the café belongs to a young nurse named Hari.
cycle used as countable noun for bicycle
When the chain on Femi's cycle broke, he walked the rest of the way.
A basket strapped to the front of Trang's cycle held fresh vegetables from the market.
Benjamin's cycle was old but still got him safely to school every morning.
- bicycle
The most common term; 'bicycle' sounds slightly more formal than 'cycle'.
- bike
Informal short form; very common in spoken English.
- two-wheeler
Informal and less common; refers to any vehicle with two wheels.
文法句型
cycle + verb (as subject)
possessive + cycle
article/determiner + cycle
用法筆記
In everyday speech, 'bicycle' or 'bike' is more common than 'cycle' in American English. 'Cycle' is more frequent in British English for referring to a bicycle.
常見錯誤
2. A set of happenings or stages that follow one after another in a fixed order and
A set of happenings or stages that follow one after another in a fixed order and typically begin again once they finish.
The seasons follow a natural cycle of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
cycle of + [seasons] natural repeated pattern
Doctors studied the sleep cycle of nurses who worked through the night.
Breaking the cycle of debt is difficult without help from family or friends.
The frog's life cycle begins in a pond and ends on dry land.
Without rain for two months, the farming cycle was completely disrupted.
- pattern
More general; a pattern may repeat without being a fixed sequence of distinct stages.
- rotation
Focuses on items or people taking turns in order, not necessarily repeating events in nature.
- rhythm
Implies a regular, often pleasing, beat or pattern; common for biological or musical processes.
- series
A sequence of events without the implication of repetition.
文法句型
cycle of + noun phrase
the + noun + cycle
in a cycle
用法筆記
Often appears in fixed collocations such as 'life cycle', 'business cycle', 'vicious cycle', and 'sleep cycle'. The object or domain noun typically comes before 'cycle'.
常見錯誤
3. A complete set of movements or stages that a machine, engine, or electronic devi
A complete set of movements or stages that a machine, engine, or electronic device goes through before starting again.
The washing machine completes one full cycle in about forty minutes.
full cycle — complete machine operation
During the drying cycle, the machine spins the clothes at very high speed.
Ramón set the timer so the dishwasher would start its cycle at midnight.
The engine's cycle includes four stages: intake, compression, power, and exhaust.
An error message appeared halfway through the printer's printing cycle.
文法句型
the + noun + cycle
cycle of + noun phrase
cycle + verb
用法筆記
Commonly paired with the name of the appliance or function: 'wash cycle', 'drying cycle', 'spin cycle', 'startup cycle'. The process is typically automatic.
常見錯誤
4. A set of poems, songs, plays, or novels created by the same person and linked by
A set of poems, songs, plays, or novels created by the same person and linked by shared characters or themes.
The composer wrote a cycle of four songs about the changing seasons.
cycle of + [number] + [creative works]
Tolkien's cycle of fantasy novels follows the journey of several different characters.
The poet published a cycle of twenty sonnets exploring love and loss.
Each story in the cycle was inspired by a different folk tale from Asia.
We studied a famous song cycle about the sea in our music history class.
- series
Much broader; a series of books can be unrelated in theme but connected by characters.
- sequence
Focuses on chronological order; less common for artistic works.
- collection
A collection may be a group of works that share no thematic connection.
文法句型
cycle of + plural noun
song cycle
cycle of + creative work
用法筆記
Most common in literary and music criticism. 'Song cycle' is a fixed term for a set of related songs meant to be performed together.
5. A rare baseball accomplishment where a batter safely reaches first, second, and
A rare baseball accomplishment where a batter safely reaches first, second, and third base plus home plate with base hits in one game.
The batter hit for the cycle after getting a home run in the eighth inning.
hit for the cycle — fixed baseball phrase
Only a few players in baseball history have managed to hit for the cycle.
Joshua watched his favourite player complete the cycle with a late triple.
The crowd cheered wildly when the shortstop achieved the cycle for the first time.
Hitting for the cycle requires a mix of power hitting and fast running.
文法句型
hit for the cycle
hit for a cycle
用法筆記
Almost always appears in the fixed expression 'hit for the cycle'. Can also appear as 'hit for a cycle'. The order of hits does not matter.
cycle — verb
1. To travel on a bike by pushing its pedals, often for transport, exercise, or enj
To travel on a bike by pushing its pedals, often for transport, exercise, or enjoyment.
Shirin cycles to work every morning when the weather is dry.
cycle to + [place] — destination pattern
Hari cycled all the way from his village to the nearest town for groceries.
Do you cycle on the main road or do you use the special bike lane?
Femi learned to cycle during the summer holiday when he turned seven.
The children cycle along the beach path every Saturday with their father.
文法句型
cycle + adverb/preposition of direction
cycle to + place
cycle along + noun
用法筆記
This sense is more common in British English than American English. In American English, 'ride a bike' or 'bike' is preferred. The past form is 'cycled'.
常見錯誤
2. To undergo a recurring set of stages that follow a fixed order, or to cause some
To undergo a recurring set of stages that follow a fixed order, or to cause something to undergo the same.
The economy naturally cycles through periods of growth and slowdown.
intransitive: cycle through + [stages]
Farmers cycle their crops between fields each year to keep the soil healthy.
transitive: cycle + object + between + [places]
The washing machine cycles through its programme in about one hour.
As the moon cycles through its phases, the height of the tides changes.
We cycle the nursery plants between sunlight and shade for the best growth.
文法句型
cycle + through + noun phrase
cycle + noun phrase + between/through
noun + cycle(s)
用法筆記
When transitive, the subject causes the object to go through the stages (e.g., 'Farmers cycle their crops'). When intransitive, the subject itself passes through stages ('The economy cycles...').