Etymologically
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biker

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 21:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˈbɐɪ̯kɚ/[1]
  • UK: /ˈbaɪ̯kə/[1]
  • US: /ˈbaɪ̯kɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English bike + -er,[2][3][4] at first from the noun and later partly from the verb bike.[2] The noun bike is a shortened and altered form of bicycle, recorded from 1882 in American English.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A cyclist, someone who rides a bicycle: 1883, in the Wheelman,[2][6] originally a colloquial word.[2] Green's earliest example is from Punch in 1895.[7]

Semantic evolution

When bike came to mean a motorcycle, recorded from 1903,[2] biker followed it: from 1956 the OED records it for a motorcyclist, especially a member of a motorcycle club or gang.[2] Etymonline dates this sense to 1968, in American English, with reference to club membership,[4] and Green's first example, from Harper's Magazine in 1968, lists bikers with hippies and dropouts.[7] The Australian equivalent is bikie.[4][2]

Timeline

  • 1883 – a cyclist.[2][6]
  • 1956 – a motorcyclist, especially a member of a club or gang.[2]
  • 1968 – in Etymonline and Green's, a motorcycle gang member.[4][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A motorcyclist, especially a member of a motorcycle club or gang: A group of bikers stopped at the roadside cafe.[6][2][7]
  2. A person who rides a bicycle; a cyclist.[6][2][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c d e Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com