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

Only regular bicycles and Class 1 and 2 electric bikes are permitted on the path. —Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026

Why do electric bikes have to be grossly expensive and overly inaccessible? —New Atlas, 4 Feb. 2026

Another officer stepped in front of his electric bike waving his arm to flag Gonzalez Garcia to stop, police said. —Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 29 Jan. 2026

The person hit in March 2024 is far from the only person to be in an electric bike or scooter crash in the Treasure Valley. —Idaho Statesman, 21 Jan. 2026

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