cycle

[sahy-kuh l] /ˈsaɪ kəl/
noun
1.
any complete round or series of occurrences that repeats or is repeated.
2.
a round of years or a recurring period of time, especially one in which certain events or phenomena repeat themselves in the same order and at the same intervals.
3.
any long period of years; age.
4.
a bicycle, motorcycle, tricycle, etc.
5.
a group of poems, dramas, prose narratives, songs etc., about a central theme, figure, or the like:
the Arthurian cycle.
6.
Physics.
  1. a sequence of changing states that, upon completion, produces a final state identical to the original one.
  2. one of a succession of periodically recurring events.
  3. a complete alteration in which a phenomenon attains a maximum and minimum value, returning to a final value equal to the original one.
7.
Mathematics. a permutation of a set of elements that leaves the original cyclic order of the elements unchanged.
8.
Computers.
  1. the smallest interval of time required to complete an operation in a computer.
  2. a series of computer operations repeated as a unit.
verb (used without object), cycled, cycling.
9.
to ride or travel by bicycle, motorcycle, tricycle, etc.
10.
to move or revolve in cycles; pass through cycles.
Idioms
11.
hit for the cycle, Baseball. (of one player) to hit a single, double, triple, and home run in one game.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English cicle < Late Latin cyclus < Greek kýklos cycle, circle, wheel, ring, disk, orb; see wheel
Related forms
supercycle, noun
Examples from the web for cycles
  • Today's machines with dough cycles give even better results.
  • Plants, animals and humans all need it, as it's an essential part of food cycles.
  • Water cycles, it turns out, are the key to attracting the birds.
  • Most of us have conducted our own ring cycles since childhood.
  • Regular freeze-thaw cycles and exposure to the elements have been gradually destroying the tracks.
  • Repeated freeze-thaw cycles transform the spuds into soft, juicy blobs.
  • Slashing support for public colleges, of course, is part of the ebb and flow of economic cycles.
  • Fortunately there's a better way to judge when tech will be refreshed: product cycles.
  • And take your natural energy cycles into account when you plan.
  • The ball stays this way through the first few normal cycles.
British Dictionary definitions for cycles

cycle

/ˈsaɪkəl/
noun
1.
a recurring period of time in which certain events or phenomena occur and reach completion or repeat themselves in a regular sequence
2.
a completed series of events that follows or is followed by another series of similar events occurring in the same sequence
3.
the time taken or needed for one such series
4.
a vast period of time; age; aeon
5.
a group of poems or prose narratives forming a continuous story about a central figure or event: the Arthurian cycle
6.
a series of miracle plays: the Chester cycle
7.
a group or sequence of songs See song cycle
8.
short for bicycle, tricycle, motorcycle
9.
(astronomy) the orbit of a celestial body
10.
a recurrent series of events or processes in plants and animals: a life cycle, a growth cycle, a metabolic cycle
11.
(physics) a continuous change or a sequence of changes in the state of a system that leads to the restoration of the system to its original state after a finite period of time
12.
one of a series of repeated changes in the magnitude of a periodically varying quantity, such as current or voltage
13.
(computing)
  1. a set of operations that can be both treated and repeated as a unit
  2. the time required to complete a set of operations
  3. one oscillation of the regular voltage waveform used to synchronize processes in a digital computer
14.
(in generative grammar) the set of cyclic rules
verb
15.
(transitive) to process through a cycle or system
16.
(intransitive) to move in or pass through cycles
17.
to travel by or ride a bicycle or tricycle
Derived Forms
cycling, noun, adjective
Word Origin
C14: from Late Latin cyclus, from Greek kuklos cycle, circle, ring, wheel; see wheel
Word Origin and History for cycles

cycle

n.

late 14c., from Late Latin cyclus, from Greek kyklos "circle, wheel, any circular body, circular motion, cycle of events," from PIE *kwel- "to roll, to move around, wheel" (cf. Sanskrit cakram "circle, wheel," carati "he moves, wanders;" Avestan caraiti "applies himself," c'axra "chariot, wagon;" Greek polos "a round axis" (PIE *kw- becomes Greek p- before some vowels), polein "move around;" Latin colere "to frequent, dwell in, to cultivate, move around," cultus "tended, cultivated," hence also "polished," colonus "husbandman, tenant farmer, settler, colonist;" Lithuanian kelias "a road, a way;" Old Norse hvel, Old English hweol "wheel;" Old Russian kolo, Polish koło, Russian koleso "a wheel").

v.

1842, "revolve in cycles," from cycle (n.). Meaning "to ride a bicycle" is from 1883. Related: Cycled; cycling.

cycles in Medicine

cycle cy·cle (sī'kəl)
n.

  1. An interval of time during which a characteristic, often regularly repeated event or sequence of events occurs.

  2. A single complete execution of a periodically repeated phenomenon.

  3. A periodically repeated sequence of events.

cycles in Science
cycle
  (sī'kəl)   

  1. A single complete execution of a periodically repeated phenomenon. See also period.

  2. A circular or whorled arrangement of flower parts such as those of petals or stamens.