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HSS Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary

Bike, Motorbike, Moped

0Hi,02br
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00Is it wrong to call a moped a bike? There is this quiz with a photo that asks you to choose one single best discription of the picture from among four alternatives. In the photo, you see closed windows and closed drapes with a moped outside right below the windows. The answer is, "The windows and drapes are closed," and it rules out the sentence, "There is a bike in front of the house." I know bikes are nine times out of ten bicycles without an engine. But to the strict sense of terminology, don't bikes include motorbikes and motorbikes include mopeds? See what I mean?02br
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00Any and all helps would be very much appreciated.02br
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00Hiro/ Sendai, Japan0-
  

Top answer

0Sometimes it does get abbreviated to 'bike' but only usually in contexts where it is very clear that you are actually talking about a motorbike. 02br 02br 00Otherwise bike normally only applies to a bicycle/pushbike. 0-

— Nona the brit

  • 0Sometimes it does get abbreviated to 'bike' but only usually in contexts where it is very clear that you are actually talking about a motorbike.
  • 02br 02br 00Otherwise bike normally only applies to a bicycle/pushbike.
  • 0-
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7 Answers
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0Sometimes it does get abbreviated to 'bike' but only usually in contexts where it is very clear that you are actually talking about a motorbike. A bunch of hairy bikers might talk about their 'bikes' but you know they are not talking about ones with pedals!02br
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00Otherwise bike normally only applies to a bicycle/pushbike. I wouldn't choose 'There is a bike in front of t
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0Gee, thanks for such a quick help, Nona.02br
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00Thought a moped was an American term for a motor scooter. Would you use it in British English?02br
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00Again, thanks.02br
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00Hiro/ Sendai, Japan0-
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0Here is the Cambridge definition; since it doesn't restrict it to USE use, I guess it's also used in the UK.02br
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01a05000 02a0240hrefhttp://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=51849&dict=CALD
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0 I'm not sure that moped all have pedals these days but the term is used for a very low power motorbike - they usually look like the scooter style bikes too rather than 'motorbikes' and they have a restricted engine size and speed -not exceeding 50cc, and not capable of travelling faster than 50KPH. They can be ridden on an easier license that the full motorbike license and by younger people, f
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0The term also exists in German: MOtor + PEDal.0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Nona The Brit12cite10They can be ridden on an easier license that the full motorbike license and by younger people, from age 16. At age 17 you can go to a restricted size motorbike then at 21 you can ride what you like.12blockquote
10Believe it or not, I've seen quite a few old ladies on mopeds. 050010i
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0 Oh yes a lot of people get them because they are easy to ride and very cheap to run. I knew a man in his thirties who got rid of his car and bought one to save money, after he started a new job just a couple of miles away from where he lived. 0-
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