cycle

1 of 2

noun

cy·​cle ˈsī-kəl 

1

: an interval of time during which a sequence of a recurring succession of events or phenomena is completed

a 4-year cycle of growth and development

2

a

: a course or series of events or operations that recur regularly and usually lead back to the starting point

… the common cycle of birth, growth, senescence, and death.

—T. C. Schneirla and Gerard Piel

b

: one complete performance of a vibration, electric oscillation, current alternation, or other periodic process

c

: a permutation of a set of ordered elements in which each element takes the place of the next and the last becomes first

d

: a takeoff and landing of an airplane

3

: a circular or spiral arrangement: such as

a

: an imaginary circle or orbit in the heavens

b

: ring sense 10

4

: a long period of time : age

5

a

: a group of creative works (such as poems, plays, or songs) treating the same theme

a cycle of poems about unrequited love

b

: a series of narratives dealing typically with the exploits of a legendary hero

the Arthurian cycle

6

a

: bicycle

b

: tricycle

c

: motorcycle

7

: the series of a single, double, triple, and home run hit in any order by one player during one baseball game

cycle

2 of 2

verb

cycled; cycling ˈsī-k(ə-)liŋ 

intransitive verb

1

a

: to pass through a cycle

The menu cycles through all the options.

Because the traditional HVAC system cycles on and off—and is powered down when you leave—relief is inconsistent at best.

—Sarah Littleton

b

: to recur in cycles

Freezing temperatures … aren't the problem. It's when temperatures cycle between freezing and thaws, causing pavement to contract and expand … that can create larger issues.

—Jonathan Oosting

2

: to ride a cycle

specifically : bicycle

She cycles to work.

transitive verb

: to cause to go through a cycle

The fact that it [the pump] runs constantly may be a bad sign. It may be cycling the water, not removing it.

—Popular Mechanics

Everything is constantly cycled in nature. There is abundant waste in nature, just as there is in industry, but in nature waste constantly flows back into living systems.

—Paul Hawken and William McDonough

cycler

ˈsī-k(ə-)lər 

noun

Synonyms

Noun

• circle
• merry-go-round
• round
• wheel
• zodiac

Examples of cycle in a Sentence

Noun

We have to wait for the dishwasher's wash and dry cycles to end.

the spin cycle on a washing machine

He rode his cycle into town.

Verb

The water is cycled back into the system after it has been used.

The water cycles back into the system.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The hope had been to have a virtuous cycle of reuse; but engineers realized that even desalinating water would require a level of clean energy beyond reach, short of blanketing Abu Dhabi in solar panels. —Chico Harlan, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2023

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Monday that Virginia State University in Petersburg will host the second debate of the 2024 general election cycle Oct. 1. —Isabela Espadas Barros Leal, NBC News, 21 Nov. 2023

The process has completed more than 8,000 operational cycles. —Aaron Gettinger, arkansasonline.com, 21 Nov. 2023

Commitments to moral principles not only spark retribution, but also serve as the fuel that perpetuates vicious cycles of vengeance. —Joshua Rottman, Scientific American, 20 Nov. 2023

One best practice Choudhury has personally tried: Kicking off every annual planning cycle with opening up the team calendar and jointly agreeing which days are in person—and sticking to what the team agrees on. —Jane Thier, Fortune, 20 Nov. 2023

Grace is proud to serve as an ambassador for the Good+ Foundation, a nonprofit working to break the cycle of family poverty. —Grace Bastidas, Parents, 18 Nov. 2023

The following day, Wilson went on a three-hour cycle before meeting up with fellow professional cyclist Colin Strickland. —Christine Pelisek, Peoplemag, 16 Nov. 2023

That cooled fluid was then pumped out to exchange heat with a separate environment, allowing the cycle to be repeated. —John Timmer, Ars Technica, 16 Nov. 2023

Verb

Over the next few years, the group gigged regularly, often playing Motown covers, and cycled through a few names before eventually settling on Kool and the Gang and setting out to write their own material. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 17 Nov. 2023

The video then cycles through a series of then-and-now pictures and videos of the band in their salad days and a sure-to-be-talked-about sequence in which archival shots of Lennon and Harrison are spliced in aside present-day McCartney and Starr in a recording session. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 3 Nov. 2023

As Sabbath, Turturro is onstage virtually the entire play, speaking for much of that time and cycling through emotions like excitement and pity, desire and tenderness, depression and optimism. —Marc Tracy, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2023

Investigators said the women advertised on the websites were updated frequently, and sometimes cycled between the Virginia and Boston area locations. —Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 8 Nov. 2023

And few will be scrutinized more than whoever is handling the ball, considering the numerous guards the team has cycled through in recent seasons. —Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2023

But my most recent colonoscopy (taken right before my symptoms started escalating) showed nothing had changed, so my doctor brushed me off and kept cycling me through the same couple of medications. —Condé Nast, SELF, 25 Sep. 2023

Certainly, imperfect against Texas but still looks like the best option after cycling the next two contenders through the real-world test. —Michael Casagrande | [e-mail], al, 16 Sep. 2023

Swipe to the left to cycle through all the different options. —WIRED, 27 Oct. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English cicle, from Late Latin cyclus, from Greek kyklos circle, wheel, cycle — more at wheel

Verb

derivative of cycle entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1842, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing cycle

• citric acid cycle
• carbon cycle
• business cycle
• song cycle
• nitrogen cycle
• tricarboxylic acid cycle
• life cycle
• estrous cycle
• Krebs cycle
• menstrual cycle
• growth cycle
• virtuous cycle
• two-cycle
• water cycle
• oxygen cycle
• Calvin cycle
• estral cycle
• hydrologic cycle
• cell cycle
• self-perpetuating cycle

See More

• citric acid cycle
• carbon cycle
• business cycle
• song cycle
• nitrogen cycle
• tricarboxylic acid cycle
• life cycle
• estrous cycle
• Krebs cycle
• menstrual cycle
• growth cycle
• virtuous cycle
• two-cycle
• water cycle
• oxygen cycle
• Calvin cycle
• estral cycle
• hydrologic cycle
• cell cycle
• self-perpetuating cycle

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Kids Definition

cycle

1 of 2 noun

cy·​cle ˈsī-kəl 

1

: a period of time taken up by a series of events or actions that repeat themselves regularly and in the same order

the cycle of the seasons

2

a

: a series of events or operations that happen again and again regularly and usually lead back to the starting point

the cycle of blood from the heart, through the blood vessels, and back again

the drying cycle of a dishwasher

b

: one complete occurrence of a cycle

a cycle of alternating current

the cycle of a vibration

3

: a long period of time : age

cyclic

ˈsī-klik

 also  ˈsik-lik

adjective

or cyclical

ˈsī-kli-kəl,

ˈsik-li-

cyclically

-k(ə-)lē

adverb

cycle

2 of 2 verb

cy·​cle

ˈsī-kəl,

ˈsik-əl

cycled; cycling

ˈsī-k(ə-)liŋ,

ˈsik(-ə)-liŋ

: to ride a bicycle or motorcycle

Medical Definition

cycle

1 of 2 noun

cy·​cle ˈsī-kəl 

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 sense 2

cyclic

ˈsī-klik also ˈsik-lik

adjective

or cyclical

ˈsī-kli-kəl  ˈsik-li- 

cyclically

-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

also cyclicly

ˈsī-kli-klē, ˈsik-li- 

cycle

2 of 2 intransitive verb

cycled; cycling

: to undergo the estrous cycle

the mare has begun cycling