motorcycle
mo·tor·cy·cle/ˈmoʊtɚˌsaɪkəl/noun, verb
motorcycle is spelled M-O-T-O-R-C-Y-C-L-E, 4 syllables: mo·tor·cy·cle. The wrong spelling people search most is motorcicle: about 30 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 833 of all searches for the word. Motorcycle is a noun meaning “An open-seated motor vehicle with handlebars instead of a steering wheel, and having two (or sometimes three)…”. The plural of motorcycle is motorcycles.
How many letters and syllables are in motorcycle?
| Letters | 10: M-O-T-O-R-C-Y-C-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: mo·tor·cy·cle |
| In writing | 12 times per million words; the 6,347th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, motorcicle, about 30 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell motorcycle?
Motorcycle is spelled M-O-T-O-R-C-Y-C-L-E. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 865 of the searches for motorcycle in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is motorcycle?
Motorcycle appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,347th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce motorcycle?
- UK /ˈməʊʔəˌsaɪkl̩/
- UK /ˈməʊtəˌsaɪkəl/
- US /ˈmoʊtɚˌsaɪkəl/
Motorcycle has 4 syllables, split mo·tor·cy·cle in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-motorcycle.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-motorcycle.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with motorcycle
Also written: motor-cycle (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of motorcycle
- motorcycles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- motor cycle
- motor-cycle
- motorcycling participle, present
- motorcycled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does motorcycle mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An open-seated motor vehicle with handlebars instead of a steering wheel, and having two (or sometimes three) wheels.
verb
- 1
To ride a motorcycle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate motorcycle?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of motorcycle: M/C.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Motorcycle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense open-seated motor vehicle with handlebars instead of a steering wheel:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | moto, motocyclette, motocycle |
| German | Motorrad |
| Portuguese | motocicleta, moto |
| Spanish | motocicleta, moto, motor, motora |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does motorcycle come from?
From motor + cycle, from the Motorcyclette produced in 1897 by the French Werner Frères et Cie.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).