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Glite Dictionary
safety bike

safety bike

4.0
A bicycle with two same-size wheels and a chain that turns the rear wheel
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : bicicleta de seguridad
  • The safety bike revolutionized personal transportation in the late nineteenth century.

Examples

  • Unlike the penny-farthing, the safety bike provided much greater stability for riders.

  • He restored a vintage safety bike for the museum's historical display.

  • She bought a new safety bike.

  • The safety bike is easy to ride.

  • The safety bike was designed to be easier and safer for everyday riders compared to earlier models.

  • Many people prefer the safety bike because it offers a more stable ride than high-wheel bicycles.

  • The introduction of the safety bike made cycling accessible to a wider audience in the 1800s.

Synonyms

bike
vssafety bike
  • Informal
950 1.0

A two-wheeled vehicle that you ride by pushing its pedals with your feet

is the specific model with equal wheels and chain or gear drive
bicycle
vssafety bike
280 1.0

A vehicle with two wheels that you pedal

is specifically the type with equal wheels and chain or gear drive
cycle
vssafety bike
  • UK
26 1.8

A two-wheeled vehicle you move by pedaling

is the more specific form with equal wheels and chain or gear drive
safety bicycle
vssafety bike
  • Archaic
3.4

A bicycle with two equal wheels and pedals that turn the rear wheel by a chain, safer than older types

is the same meaning but stresses contrast with earlier high wheel designs

How Safe

safety bike
  • Archaic
4.0
ordinary bicycle
  • Archaic
9.0

Surface Forms

safety bike singular
safety bikes plural

Morphology

safety + bike

The noun combines 'safety' (being protected from danger) with 'bike' (a two-wheeled vehicle), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would naturally infer it means a bike designed to be safe. Although the technical/historical definition refers to a specific bicycle design (equal-sized wheels and chain drive), the core meaning is compositional and predictable, making it transparent to learners.

Etymology

Safety bike was named in the 1800s for a new kind of bike with two same-size wheels and a chain to the back wheel instead of a very large front wheel. People called it safety because this design was much 'safer' and more 'stable' than the old high-wheel bicycles, so the name came to mean that safer kind of bicycle.