cycle
gb/sˈaɪkəl/ us/sˈaɪkəl/
A2
English
~ 2400
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B1
event
1
A set of events that repeats
A group of events that happen again and again in the same way.
Usage pattern:
a [time/day/year] cycle
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'cycle' with 'circle'. A 'cycle' is about time or events; a 'circle' is a shape.
Synonyms
sequence (Focuses on the order of events but not necessarily repetition.)
|
rotation (Emphasizes returning to a starting point, often used in schedules or physical movement.)
Antonyms
randomness (The absence of any predictable or repeating order.)
Collocations
life cycle
|economic cycle
|seasonal cycle
|water cycle
|boom-and-bust cycle
Themes
time
|science
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The water cycle describes how water moves through the environment.
- The business cycle affects employment rates.
- In nature, many processes follow a regular cycle.
Learner examples
- The seasons change in a yearly cycle.
- Plants grow and die in a cycle.
- The moon has a cycle of phases.
Noun
A2
entity
2
A bicycle or motorcycle
A bike or motorbike.
Usage pattern:
ride a cycle
Common mistake:
Some learners think 'cycle' only means bicycle, but it can also mean motorcycle in some contexts.
Synonyms
bike (Common informal term for bicycle or motorcycle.)
Collocations
ride a cycle
|motor cycle
|cycle lane
Themes
transportation
|daily life
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- She rides her cycle to work every day.
- He bought a new racing cycle.
- The city has built new cycle lanes.
Learner examples
- I go to school by cycle.
- He has a red cycle.
- We ride cycles in the park.
Verb
A2
action
3
Travel using a bicycle or motorbike
To ride a bike or motorbike.
Usage pattern:
cycle to [a place]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse 'cycle' (verb) with 'circle' (verb), which means to move around something in a circular path.
Synonyms
bike (Informal verb meaning to ride a bicycle.)
Collocations
cycle to work
|cycle home
|cycle across town
Themes
transportation
|daily life
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- I usually cycle to the office.
- They cycled across the country for charity.
- She cycles to school every morning.
Learner examples
- I cycle to my friend's house.
- He cycles in the park.
- We cycle to school together.
Verb
technical
B2
action
4
Move repeatedly through stages
To go through the same steps again and again.
Synonyms
rotate (Can imply moving between tasks or roles in turn.)
|
recur (Focuses on happening again, often at intervals.)
Antonyms
stop (To bring the repeated process to an end.)
Collocations
cycle through options
|cycle between modes
Themes
science
|technology
|time
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The program cycles through different screens automatically.
- The machine cycles between heating and cooling modes.
- The system will cycle until it completes all tasks.
Learner examples
- The lights cycle from red to green.
- The fan cycles on and off.
- The computer cycles through the pictures.
Grammar
Dictionary form
cycle
IPA
GB/sˈaɪkəl/
US/sˈaɪkəl/
Syllables & stress
cycle (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (cycle)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: cycle
- Plural: cycles
Verb
- Base: cycle
- 3rd Person Singular: cycles
- Present Participle: cycling
- Past: cycled
Word family
Expressions
break the cycle
1/bɹˈeɪk ðə sˈaɪkəl/
fixed phrase
Stop a repeating pattern
To stop something bad from happening again and again.
Examples
- Education can help break the cycle of poverty.
- We need to break the cycle of violence in our community.
life cycle
1/lˈaɪf sˈaɪkəl/
fixed phrase
Stages from birth to death
All the stages from the start to the end of life or use.
Examples
- The butterfly’s life cycle includes egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages.
- Understanding a product's life cycle helps in marketing.
vicious cycle
2/vˈɪʃəs sˈaɪkəl/
idiom
self-reinforcing negative cycle
A bad cycle where one problem leads to another problem, and this keeps happening so that things get worse and worse.
Examples
- Debt and poverty can create a vicious cycle.
- Debt can quickly become a vicious cycle if you keep borrowing to pay old loans.
- Lack of sleep leads to stress, which leads to more lack of sleep—a vicious cycle.
- The company was stuck in a vicious cycle of falling sales and cost-cutting.