1: a recurring series of events: as a (1): a series of stages through which an organism tends to pass once in a fixed order <the common cycle of birth, growth, senescence and death — T. C. Schneirla & Gerard Piel>; also : a series of stages through which a population of organisms tends to pass more or less in synchrony <the mosquito-hatching cycle>—see life cycle (2): a series of physiological, biochemical, or psychological stages that recur in the same individual—see cardiac cycle, menstrual cycle; krebs cycle b: one complete performance of a vibration, electric oscillation, current alternation, or other periodic process c: a series of ecological stages through which a substance tends to pass and which usually but not always leads back to the starting point <the cycle of nitrogen in the living world>2: ring 2

— cy·clic \ˈsī-klik also ˈsik-lik\

or cy·cli·cal \ˈsī-kli-kəl, ˈsik-li-\

adjective

— cy·cli·cal·ly \-k(ə-)lē\

Listen to the pronunciation of cyclically

also cy·clic·ly \ˈsī-kli-klē, ˈsik-li-\

adverb

Learn more about "cycle" and related topics at Britannica.com

Pronunciation Symbols