cycle
/ˈsaɪ.kəl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.60 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A process that returns to its beginning and then repeats itself in the same sequence.
noun
A programme on a washing machine, dishwasher, or other such device.
Example Sentences
- "the cycle of the seasons, or of the year"
- "VVages have been tvvice raiſed in my time, and they bear a full proportion, or even a greater than formerly, to the medium of proviſion during the laſt bad cycle of tvventy years."
- "electoral cycle menstrual cycle news cycle"
- "No sooner has a [synthetic] drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one. These “legal highs” are sold for the few months it takes the authorities to identify and ban them, and then the cycle begins again."
- "Ice is one of a slate of young, idealistic candidates for Move Forward who have joined mainstream politics in the hope that this election allows Thailand to break the cycle of military coups […]"
- "The Ring of the Nibelung is a cycle of four operas by Richard Wagner."
Etymology
From Middle English cicle (“fixed length period of years”), from Late Latin cyclus, from Ancient Greek κύκλος (kúklos, “circle”), from Proto-Hellenic *kúklos, *kʷókʷlos, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷékʷlos (“circle, wheel”). Doublet of chakra, chakram, charkha, chukker, cyclus, kike, and wheel (see there for more).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsaɪ.kəl/
- British English: /ˈsaɪ.kəl/