quad bike

US/ˈkwɑd ˌbaɪk/UK/ˈkwɒd ˌbaɪk/

noun

A small off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle, especially of a design derived from a motorcycle, usually used for recreation or farm work.

Similar
quadfour-wheeler
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Meanings

nounquad bike (plural quad bikes)

plural quad bikes

  1. A small off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle, especially of a design derived from a motorcycle, usually used for recreation or farm work.

    Because outside, away from the bright lights of the gym, riders wearing balaclavas roar past on quad bikes in the darkness.

    2026 September 24, Jack Gray, Riyah Collins, “'I can't see it stopping' - Middlesbrough's young men discuss gangs after A66 crash”, in BBC News, retrieved 24 Sep 2026

    Synonyms: quad, four-wheeler

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA small off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle, especially of a design derived from a motorcycle, usually used for recreation or farm work.

Similar
quadfour-wheeler
Also see
four-wheelerquad

Origin

From quad (“four (“4”)”) + bike (“bicycle”). From being a four-wheeled vehicle (a quadricycle) that is ridden astride like a motorcycle, the term carries an inherent contradiction, since “quad” denotes four, while “bike” implies two. This etymological inconsistency is largely overlooked in everyday usage, as such contradictions are often absorbed and normalized by idiom.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans vierwielmotorfiets
  • vierwielmotorfietssmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
Chinese Mandarin 沙灘車 /沙滩车, 四輪摩托車 /四轮摩托车
  • 沙灘車 /沙滩车 (shātānchē)small off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
  • 四輪摩托車 /四轮摩托车 (sìlún mótuōchē)small off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
Dutch quad
  • quadsmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
Finnish mönkijä
  • mönkijäsmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
French quad
  • quadsmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
German Quad
  • Quadsmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
Greek γουρούνα, όχημα παντός εδάφους
  • γουρούνα (gouroúna)small off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
  • όχημα παντός εδάφους (óchima pantós edáfous)small off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
Hebrew טרקטורון
  • טרקטורון (traktoron)small off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
Italian quad, quadriciclo fuoristrada
  • quadsmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
  • quadriciclo fuoristradasmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
  • quadrimotosmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
Polish quad, wszędołaz
  • quadsmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
  • wszędołazsmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
  • czterokołowiecsmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
Portuguese moto-quatro
  • moto-quatrosmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
Russian мотовездеход
  • мотовездеход (motovezdexod)small off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
Spanish quad, cuatri
  • quadsmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
  • cuatrismall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
Swedish fyrhjuling
  • fyrhjulingsmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
Turkish ATV
  • ATVsmall off-road four-wheeled powered vehicle
Cite this entry
APA

quad bike. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quad%20bike

MLA

“quad bike.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quad%20bike. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “quad bike,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/quad%20bike.

Source: quad bike on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.