noun
1.
a motor vehicle similar to a bicycle but usually larger and heavier, chiefly for one rider but sometimes having two saddles or an attached sidecar for passengers.
verb (used without object), motorcycled, motorcycling.
2.
to ride on or operate a motorcycle.
Origin of motorcycle
1890-95, Americanism; motor + cycle
noun
1.
Also called motorbike. a two-wheeled vehicle, having a stronger frame than a bicycle, that is driven by a petrol engine, usually with a capacity of between 125 cc and 1000 cc
verb (intransitive)
2.
to ride on a motorcycle
Word Origin and History for motorcycle Expand
n.
1895, a hybrid from motor + -cycle, from bicycle. Motocycle also was used late 19c.
The horse follows the crooks of a country road, but then the training of the "motorcycle" (horrid name) will inevitably straighten out the crooks in the country road, and afford long ranges of straight tracks. [Payson Burleigh, "The Age of Steel," Oct. 12, 1895]