/ˈpɛdəl/, /ˈpiːdəl/
OriginBorrowed from French pédale, Latin pedāl(is). By surface analysis, ped- + -al.
- A lever operated by one's foot that is used to control or power a machine or mechanism, such as a bicycle or piano.
“There are three pedals on manual cars, two on automatics.”
“A piano usually has two or three pedals.”
“the pedal of a loom”
- an orthopedic structure or a footlike part.
- An effects unit, especially one designed to be activated by being stepped on.
- humorousA stirrup.
- The ranks of pipes played from the pedal-board of an organ.
“A small organ commonly has only one or two ranks on the pedal.”
- To operate a pedal attached to a wheel in a continuous circular motion.
- intransitiveTo operate a bicycle.
“He was out of breath from pedalling up the steep hill.”
“In the 1890’s “women were behind the stove,” he relates. But they cycled, too. “And they had difficulty pedalling bicycles with ankle-length skirts. “At the time,” Taylor said, “the most sinful thing ”
“Crucial to the crankset is the bottom bracket. Of all the bearings on a bike, the bottom bracket is the one that has to bear the heaviest load. Not only does the bottom bracket have to spin while you ”
- not-comparableOf or relating to the foot.
Formspedals(plural) · pedals(present, singular, third-person) · pedaling(US, participle, present) · pedalling(UK, participle, present) · pedaled(US, participle, past) · pedaled(US, past) · pedalled(UK, participle, past) · pedalled(UK, past)