bikes

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of bike.

   The shop repairs old bikes and sells refurbished ones at a discount.

   Dozens of bikes lined the trail entrance on race day.

   Note

   One plural, several kinds of machine. Because bike is a clipping of both bicycle and motorbike, bikes can mean either one. It also stretches to anything with pedals, a handlebar or a saddle, and context usually settles which is meant. In Scotland and northern England the same plural can informally name hives of bees or nests of wasps, a regional use that has nothing to do with wheels.

2. 2
   verbcolloquial

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of bike.

   My neighbor bikes to the market each morning instead of driving.

   Whenever the trails dry out, she bikes for hours through the hills.

   Note

   An informal verb that usually stands alone, as in she bikes to work. It can also take an object when the meaning shifts to carrying something by bicycle, as in he bikes the parcels over. The spelling is shared with the plural noun, so the subject decides the reading. In more formal prose, rides a bike is the safer choice.

   The courier bikes the documents across town before noon.

   Every Friday he bikes the leftover bread to the shelter.

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