n 1  :  a recurring series of events: as  a (1) :  a series of stages through which an organism tends to pass once in a fixed order <the common of birth, growth, senescence and death -T. C. Schneirla & Gerard Piel>  : also  :  a series of stages through which a population of organisms tends to pass more or less in synchrony <the mosquito-hatching >  - see LIFE CYCLE  (2) :  a series of physiological, biochemical, or psychological stages that recur in the same individual - see CARDIAC CYCLE MENSTRUAL CYCLE KREBS CYCLE   b  :  one complete performance of a vibration, electric oscillation, current alternation, or other periodic process  c  :  a series of ecological stages through which a substance tends to pass and which usu. but not always leads back to the starting point <the of nitrogen in the living world>   2  :  RING 2 cy*clic or  cy*cli*cal  adj cy*cli*cal*ly also  cy*clic*ly  adv 
, vi, cycled  cycling  :  to undergo the estrous cycle <the mare has begun cycling>  .
 
 
 
Similar sounding terms:  ce·cal  sca·la   scale  scaly 
 
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