electric bike

noun

variants or e-bike

ˈē-ˌbīk 

or electric bicycle

plural electric bikes or e-bikes or electric bicycles

: a bicycle equipped with an electric motor that may be activated in order to assist with or replace pedaling

Just like any bike, electric bikes come with a ton of different technical specs that you may or may not care about.

—Adrienne So

For many years, e-bikes carried the stigma of being vehicles for lazy pedalers and seniors. The bikes draw power from a battery and motor to make pedaling significantly easier. You can also accelerate with the press of a button, transforming cycling from a strenuous exercise into a joy ride.

—Brian X. Chen

Examples of electric bike in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Building an electric bike with Right to Repair front and center should dramatically extend the life of your ride—and make electric bikes even more popular. —Julian Chokkattu, Wired News, 16 Aug. 2025

Stanberry and her husband, and sometimes friends who like to come along, will brave the heat and bugs and hike out into the swamp, drive out to trails in a vehicle, take electric bikes or motor around in a johnboat looking for the invasive species. —Miami Herald, 15 Aug. 2025

The Pflugerville City Council on Tuesday voted to incorporate and update the city’s master mobility plan, which emphasizes alternative transportation options, like electric bikes or walking, into its overall 2040 comprehensive city plan. —Mason Rouser, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025

The motor is chassis-mounted with a belt drive to the rear wheel, as opposed to hub-mounted as is the case on most Chinese electric bikes. —Utkarsh Sood june 29, New Atlas, 29 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1881, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for electric bike

• statesmanlike
• unladylike
• alike
• belike
• birdlike
• catlike
• childlike
• christlike
• deathlike
• dislike
• dreamlike
• friedreich