peloton

noun pel·o·ton \ ˌpe-lə-ˈtän , ˈpe-lə-ˌtän \

|Updated on: 16 Jul 2018

Examples: peloton in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of peloton

: the main body of riders in a bicycle race

See peloton defined for English-language learners

peloton was our Word of the Day on 07/06/2010. Hear the podcast!

Examples of peloton in a Sentence

He broke away from the peloton and sprinted into the lead.

Recent Examples of peloton from the Web

The Tour will spend three more days in northeastern Brittany, where fans waved black-and-white striped Breton flag on the roadside as the peloton rolled through the country villages.

— joseph wilson, The Seattle Times, "Gaviria beats Sagan again to claim 2nd Tour win on Stage 4," 10 July 2018
Froome, who fell into a ditch near the end of Saturday’s opening stage, arrived safely with most of the peloton.

— joseph wilson, BostonGlobe.com, "Peter Sagan sprints to the finish to win second stage of Tour de France," 8 July 2018
During the final laps of the 2017 Dutch National Road Championships, in Montferland, the peloton surged through a fine June rain.

— Outside Online, "Marianne Vos Is the Boss," 15 May 2018
Only a few individual riders break away — they can be chased down later — as the peloton maintains a conservative pace.

— david wharton, latimes.com, "Set the pace, block wind, fetch water — these guys do everything but win," 16 May 2018
The 2013 Tour of California was his first major stage-race victory, and one that propelled him into the upper echelon of the European peloton.

— sacbee, "'I’m no scrub': Why altitude doesn't worry Tejay van Garderen in Tour of California | The Sacramento Bee," 16 May 2018
The rest of the riders allowed him to break from the peloton and ride a few moments by himself as the fans applauded.

— USA TODAY, "Froome wins Tour-Vuelta double as Contador ends final race," 10 Sep. 2017
There’s a reason 90% of the peloton steers clear of the final sprint.

— jason gay, WSJ, "Booting Peter Sagan From the Tour de France: Fair or Foul?," 5 July 2017
On flat roads, Sky’s Luke Rowe and Christian Knees drive the peloton and monitor early breakaways.

— joshua robinson, WSJ, "How Chris Froome and Team Sky Overwhelmed the Tour de France," 23 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'peloton.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

If you've ever watched the Tour de France on television, you've seen the peloton, the brightly colored pack of riders making up the central group. You may have also gained some inadvertent insight into the word itself, which as you may have guessed is French in origin. In French, "peloton" literally means "ball," but it is most often used with the meaning "group." It's frequently used in the bicycling context, just as in English, but it can also refer to a group in a marathon or other sporting event. French peloton can also mean "squad" or "platoon," and since we’ve told you that you probably won’t be too surprised to learn that it is also the source of our word platoon.