Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A group of riders that clump together in a bicycle race on the open road.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun military A platoon.
  • noun cycling The main group of riders formed during a cycling road race.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, ball of string, platoon, peloton; see platoon.]

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Examples

Comments

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  • Fearless in Finnish. Gyro Gearloose is Pelle Peloton in Finland.

    March 9, 2009

  • "The Pack" in long distance bicycle racing. A new word this racing season? See Sunday NYTimes, the word is mentioned a few times, such as "After Tourmalet, it was about 43.5 miles, or 70 kilometers, to the finish, giving the peloton plenty of time to catch anyone who attacked on the climb. "

    July 14, 2009