Word.ws English Dictionary

can kicker

can kicker noun: someone or something who is can kicking or who kicks the can down the road. I.e. someone or something who is adept at delaying things, putting off a difficult issue or decision, typically on a continual basis. For example, 'The US and Europe should be glad to be led by a bunch of can-kickers'.

Noun

can kicker (plural can kickers)

  1. Someone or something who is can kicking or who kicks the can down the road. I.e. someone or something who is adept at delaying things, putting off a difficult issue or decision, typically on a continual basis. For example, 'The US and Europe should be glad to be led by a bunch of can-kickers'.

Forms of can kicker

pluralcan kickers

Origin of can kicker

Can kicking attested as an activity of idle urban youths since the late 19th century. Modern sense of "procrastinate" dates from the 1980s.

Questions about can kicker

What does can kicker mean?
Can kicker means someone or something who is can kicking or who kicks the can down the road. I.e. someone or something who is adept at delaying things, putting off a difficult issue or decision, typically on a continual basis. For example, 'The US and Europe should be glad to be led by a bunch of can-kickers'.
What part of speech is can kicker?
Can kicker is a noun.
What is the plural of can kicker?
The plural of can kicker is can kickers.

Words near can kicker in the dictionary

  1. can I speak to the manager haircut
  2. can I speak to the manager haircuts
  3. can I use your phone
  4. can is can
  5. can it
  6. can kicker
  7. can kickers
  8. can light
  9. can man
  10. can not
  11. can of corn

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: can kicker (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “can kicker.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/can_kicker. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.