I. ped ‧ al 1 /ˈpedl/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: French ; Origin: pedale , from Italian , from Latin pedalis 'of the foot' ]
1 . ( also bicycle pedal ) one of the two parts of a bicycle that you push round with your feet to make the bicycle go forward
2 . a part in a car or on a machine that you press with your foot to control it:
She put her foot down on the accelerator pedal.
3 . a part on a piano or organ that you press with your foot to change the quality of the sound
4 . put/press/push the pedal to the metal American English
a) to drive a car, truck etc very fast
b) to work harder or faster, especially so that you can win a game
II. pedal 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle pedalled , present participle pedalling British English , pedaled , pedaling American English ) [intransitive and transitive]
1 . [always + adverb/preposition] to ride a bicycle ⇨ cycle , ride
pedal up/along/down etc
Andrew pedalled up the road towards the town centre.
2 . to turn or push the pedals on a bicycle or other machine with your feet:
She was pedalling furiously (=very fast) .