26984 words

cycles

13 definitions • 28 examples
1
a bicycle:

Examples:

Cycles cannot be taken on this train.
A thousand people took part in the region's biggest-ever cycle race.
2
a series of events that happen in a particular order, one following the other, and are often repeated:

Examples:

cycle of They are trapped in a cycle of violence.
break the cycle The charity works with low-income families to give children a good start in life and help break the cycle of inter-generational poverty.
complete a cycle Humans generally take about 90 minutes to complete a full cycle of REM and non-REM sleep.
The same cycle repeated itself time and time again.
3
one in a series of movements that a machine performs:

Examples:

the washing machine's spin cycle
4
a group of plays, poems, songs, etc. written by one person and connected with each other by dealing with the same characters or ideas:

Examples:

It's one in a cycle of plays that are being performed on successive evenings.
5
In baseball, if a player hits for the cycle, they hit a single (= a hit that allows them to reach first base), a double (= a hit that allows them to reach second base), a triple (= a hit that allows them to reach third base), and a home run (= a hit that allows them to run around all four bases) in the same game:

Examples:

He was the first player in the team's history to hit for the cycle.
6
to ride a bicycle:

Examples:

Most of the kids cycle or walk to school.
We have cycled all the way from Scotland.
She was so determined to get fit she often cycled eight miles to the nearest swimming pool.
7
to go through or repeat a cycle (= a series of events that happen in the same order one after the other, and are often repeated):

Examples:

cycle through The earth cycles through natural heating and cooling trends.
cycle in and out of He spent his adult life cycling in and out of prison.
8
short form ofbicycle
9
a complete set of events that repeat themselves regularly in the same order, or a regularly repeated period of time:

Examples:

Some economists predict the business cycle will turn downward.
10
a group of events that happen in a particular order, one following the other, and often repeated:

Examples:

Interest rates tend to move in cycles.
Spending quickly becomes a vicious cycle - the more you have the more you spend.
11

Examples:

Normally, the business has cycles, and every 10 years it peaks.
If you sell goods in a seasonal industry, then cycles of consumer demand are an important dimension of your environment.
boom-and-bust/market cycles Security prices tend to move up and down over various market cycles and logic says to invest when prices are low.
The company's markets had passed the bottom of the cycle and were slowly growing again.
12
a single successful period, period of failure, etc. that is part of a regular series:

Examples:

a boom/down cycle The country is still in a boom cycle.
The market is still in its growth cycle.
a cycle of debt/poverty The Credit Union tries to wean borrowers off the cycle of debt by offering financial counseling and payment plans.
13
a regular period of time during which an activity, job, etc. is done:

Examples:

a two-year/3-month/annual, etc. cycle
product/product-development cycles They work to shorten product-development cycles and to boost manufacturing productivity.

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