What does criterium mean?
A criterium is a form of bicycle race run over a short, closed circuit — typically a loop of city streets blocked off for the event — rather than a point-to-point road course. Competitors complete a fixed number of laps or ride for a set period, with the winner determined either by the first rider across the line at the finish or by points accumulated in intermediate sprints. Criteriums are fast, technical, and spectator-friendly: because the course repeats every few minutes, crowds can watch the entire race unfold from a single spot, which has made them popular fixtures of urban racing calendars in Europe and North America. The word entered English through cycling terminology and derives ultimately from the Greek 'kritērion' via Latin, the same root that gives us 'criterion'. That shared ancestry causes frequent confusion: many people assume a criterium is a standard of judgment, when in fact it names only this distinctive style of race. In everyday language outside cycling circles the term is rare, but within the sport it is firmly established.
nounA criterium is a short-distance bicycle race held on a closed circuit, typically city streets, run over a fixed number of laps or a set time rather than a set distance. The word should not be confused with 'criterion', which means a standard of judgment.
- A short-distance bicycle race contested on a closed circuit, usually of city streets, over multiple laps or a set duration.
"She won the downtown criterium after attacking on the final corner of the last lap."
"The riders averaged nearly fifty kilometres per hour around the one-kilometre criterium course."
"Local businesses close their streets each summer to host the town's annual criterium."
Standard plural is 'criteriums'; unlike 'criterion', whose plural is 'criteria', 'criterium' does not take a Latin-style plural in common use.
"The team raced three criteriums in a single week."
Despite looking like the plural of 'criterion', a criterium has nothing to do with judging anything except who crosses the finish line first.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of criterium
The English word 'criterium' comes directly from 'criterion', which derives from the Greek 'kritērion', meaning a means of judging, formed on the verb 'krinein', to decide or distinguish. It was adopted into cycling vocabulary, apparently in continental European usage, as the name for a short circuit race judged simply by order of finish. It shares its ultimate Greek root with words such as 'critical', 'hypocrite', and 'diacritic'.
How criterium is actually used
The word belongs almost exclusively to competitive cycling and is most familiar to racing enthusiasts; it is neutral in tone and used identically in British and American English. Because it so closely resembles 'criterion' in spelling, writers sometimes mistakenly treat it as a judgment standard — always check context before assuming the meaning.
Easily confused with criterium
A criterion (plural criteria) is a standard or principle by which something is judged, whereas a criterium is a type of short-circuit bicycle race; despite the similar spelling, they are entirely different words.