Meanings
plural coaster brakes
- A special rear hub for a bicycle that functions as a brake when the user pedals backwards, and which allows the bicycle to roll without forcing the pedals to turn.
Billy slammed on his coaster brakes and said "anybody wanna go on up to Greasy Lake?"
1973, Bruce Springsteen, “Spirit in the Night”, in Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.1 more example
The coaster brake is one of the three types of braking mechanism developed to slow down and stop a bike safely and efficiently. This mechanism quickly gained in popularity in the USA, Germany and the Netherlands in the 1890s and is still used for upright and children's bicycles.
2017, Suze Clemitson, A History of Cycling in 100 Objects, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 54Synonyms: back pedal brake, foot brake
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA special rear hub for a bicycle that functions as a brake when the user pedals backwards, and which allows the bicycle to roll without forcing the pedals to turn.
Translations
Dutch terugtraprem, achteruittraprem
- terugtraprembrake integrated in bicycle rear hub
- achteruittraprembrake integrated in bicycle rear hub
Finnish napajarru, jalkajarru
- napajarrubrake integrated in bicycle rear hub
- jalkajarrubrake integrated in bicycle rear hub
French frein à rétropédalage
- frein à rétropédalagebrake integrated in bicycle rear hub
German Rücktrittbremse
- Rücktrittbremsebrake integrated in bicycle rear hub
Polish torpedo
- torpedobrake integrated in bicycle rear hub
Cite this entry
coaster brake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coaster%20brake
“coaster brake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coaster%20brake. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “coaster brake,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/coaster%20brake.
Source: coaster brake on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.