Word.ws English Dictionary

kick

/kɪk/

kick verb: to strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg. Also the clipping of kickdrum.

Verb (1)

kick (third-person singular simple present kicks, present participle kicking, simple past and past participle kicked)

  1. (transitive) To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg.
    • Did you kick your brother?
    • I was cuffed by the women and kicked by the men because I would not swallow it.1895, George MacDonald, Lilith, Chapter XII: Friends and Foes
  2. (intransitive) To make a sharp jerking movement of the leg, as to strike something.
    • He enjoyed the simple pleasure of watching the kickline kick.
    • Sometimes we had rather rough play, for they would frequently bite and kick as well as gallop.[1877], Anna Sewell, “My Early Home”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC, part I, page 10
  3. (transitive) To direct to a particular place by a blow with the foot or leg.
    • Kick the ball into the goal.
    • Sometimes he can kick the ball forward along the ground until it is kicked in goal, where he can fall on it for a touchdown.1905, Fielding H. Yost, chapter 7, in Football for Player and Spectator
  4. To eject summarily.
    • "He's been mad at me ever since I fired him off'n my payroll. After I kicked him off'n my ranch he run for sheriff, and the night of the election everybody was so drunk they voted for him by mistake, or for a joke, or somethin', and since he's been in office he's been lettin' the sheepmen steal me...1936 October, Robert E. Howard, “The Conquerin' Hero of the Humbolts”, in Action Stories
    • They are the ones who give hobbyists a bad name, and should be kicked out of any club meeting they show up at.1976 February 3, Bill Gates, An Open Letter to Hobbyists
  5. (Internet, transitive) To forcibly remove a participant from an online activity.
    • She was kicked from the IRC server for flooding.
  6. (slang, transitive) To overcome (a bothersome or difficult issue or obstacle); to free oneself of (a problem).
    • I still smoke, but they keep telling me to kick the habit.
  7. To move or push suddenly and violently.
    • He was kicked sideways by the force of the blast.
    • The back of the car kicked out violently, forcing me to steer into the slide and accelerate in order to maintain control.2011, Tom Andry, Bob Moore: No Hero
  8. To recoil; to push by recoiling.
    • Lying on the ground, when fired, it kicked me back a foot. There was no way a person my size was going to be able to do an effective job with this gun.2003, Jennifer C. D. Groomes, The Falcon Project, page 174
    • I asked my sister Jeanette if she wanted to shoot the 12 ga. shotgun. She replied, "does it kick"?2006, Daniel D. Scherschel, Maple Grove, page 81
  9. (transitive) To attack (a piece) in order to force it to move.
  10. (intransitive) To accelerate quickly with a few pedal strokes in an effort to break away from other riders.
    • Contador kicks again to try to rid himself of Rasmussen.
  11. (intransitive) To show opposition or resistance.
    • "My expenses always are reasonable—I mean there is always a reason for them. But I notice that you don't kick at the other item. That doesn't look as if you were exactly optimistic of striking a gold mine, Joolby."1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London
    Synonyms:
    balk, object
  12. Of an engine, to engage; to start.
    • The grey Bentley convertible, the 1933 4½-litre with the Amherst-Villiers supercharger, had been brought round a few minutes earlier from the garage where he kept it and the engine had kicked directly he pressed the self-starter.1954, Ian Fleming, “Interview with M”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 11
Show 3 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (historical) To work a press by impact of the foot on a treadle.
  2. (transitive) To reset (a watchdog timer).
    • In the meantime, it is possible for the embedded software to “kick” the watchdog timer, to reset its counter to the original large number.1999, Michael Barr, Programming Embedded Systems in C and C++, page 98
    • From now on the process has to periodically kick the watchdog timer in intervals shorter than the initialization interval.2012, Tarek Sobh, Khaled Elleithy, Emerging Trends in Computing, Informatics, Systems Sciences, and Engineering, page 763
  3. (informal, reflexive) To reproach oneself for making a mistake or missing an opportunity.
    • He's still kicking himself for not investing three years ago.
    Synonyms:
    beat oneself up, live to regret

Noun

kick (countable and uncountable, plural kicks)

  1. A hit or strike with the leg, foot or knee.
    • A kick to the knee.
    • A kick of his boot-heel sent the door flying into the room.1890, Jacob A[ugust] Riis, “A Raid on the Stale-beer Dives”, in How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 72
    Synonyms:
    calcation
  2. The action of swinging a foot or leg.
    • The ballerina did a high kick and a leap.
    1. A kicking motion used in a swim stroke.
      • These boys all use a kick similar to the kick presented here however, in some cases it is less modified than in others.1935, Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, volume 6, number April 1935, page 26
  3. (colloquial) Something that tickles the fancy; something fun or amusing; a pleasure; a thrill.
    • I finally saw the show. What a kick!
    • I think I sprained something on my latest exercise kick.
  4. (Internet) The removal of a person from an online activity.
  5. The act of restarting or resetting a watchdog timer.
  6. (figuratively) Any bucking motion of an object that lacks legs or feet.
    • The car had a nasty kick the whole way.
    • The pool ball took a wild kick, up off the table.
  7. A pungent or spicy flavour; piquancy.
    • Add a little cascabel pepper to ordinary tomato sauce to give it a kick.2002, Ellen and Michael Albertson, Temptations, Fireside, page 124 http://books.google.com/books?id=cITFVpz2ri8C&pg=PA124&dq=kick
    • For extra kick, hollow out a lime, float it on top of the drink, and fill it with tequila.2003, Sheree Bykofsky, Megan Buckley, Sexy City Cocktails, Adams Media, →ISBN, page 129
  8. A stimulation provided by an intoxicating substance.
  9. A pass played by kicking with the foot.
  10. The distance traveled by kicking the ball.
    • a long kick up the field.
  11. The recoil of a gun.
  12. (informal) A pocket.
    • Some nights I’d try my luck in the crap game and wind up with a grand or more in my kick.1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, “Quit Foolin’ with That Comb”, in Really the Blues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child), page 44
    • Her mind couldn’t lose sight of […]the bloodied nickel plated pistol Angie had in his kick.1952, George Mandel, Flee the Angry Strangers, Bobs-Merrill, page 383
Show 4 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. An increase in speed in the final part of a running race.
  2. Synonym of kicker (“backlight positioned at an angle”).
    Synonyms:
    kicker
  3. (UK, colloquial, dated, historical) Sixpence.
    • Two and a kick—two shillings and a kick.1912, French's Acting Edition of Plays, Dramas, Extravaganzas, Farces etc., page 12
    • That's the stuff that will do the trick / Sold at every chemist for one and a kick1941, Eddie Latta, George Formby, “Auntie Maggie's Remedy”, performed by George Formby
  4. (colloquial) A shoe.
    • All the other kids with the pumped up kicks / You better run, better run, outrun my gun2010, Mark Foster, “Pumped Up Kicks”, performed by Foster the People

Verb (2)

kick (third-person singular simple present kicks, present participle kicking, simple past and past participle kicked)

  1. (intransitive) To die.
    • Who knows what will happen to his billions when the eighty-five-year-old kicks, but before he leaves the planet, Moon reportedly is hell-bent on creating a holy land in North Korea, dedicated to him.2005, Melissa L. Rossi, What every American should know about who's really running the world, page 211

Verb (3)

kick (third-person singular simple present kicks, present participle kicking, simple past and past participle kicked)

  1. (intransitive, slang) To be emphatically excellent.
    • That band really kicks.

Also used as

kick is also the clipping of kickdrum.

kick meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

kick in Hindi

strike with or raise the foot or leg
लात मारना lāt mārnā
direct to a particular place by a blow with the foot or leg
लात मारना lāt mārnā
hit or strike with the leg or foot
लात मारना lāt mārnā

kick in Tamil

உதை, உதைக்கவும், உதைத்தல்

kick in Marathi

लाथ मारणे, लाथ मारण्यासाठी, लाथ मारायला

kick in Urdu

hit or strike with the leg or foot
لات lāt
More languagesFewer languages
kick in Bengali
লাথি, লাথি মারুন, লাথি মারতে
kick in Telugu
తన్ను tannu, తాపు tāpu
kick in Malayalam
ചവിട്ടുക, കിക്ക്, ചവിട്ടാൻ
kick in Kannada
ಕಿಕ್, ಒದೆಯಿರಿ, ಒದೆಯುವಿಕೆ
kick in Punjabi
ਲੱਤ ਮਾਰਨਾ, ਲੱਤ ਮਾਰਨ ਲਈ
kick in Gujarati
લાત મારવી, લાત મારવા માટે
kick in Odia
ଲାଥି ମାରନ୍ତି, ଲାଥି ମାରିବା, ଲାଥି ମାରିବାକୁ
kick in Assamese
লথিয়া lothia, গুৰিয়া guria, লাথ lath, গুৰি guri
kick in Nepali
किक गर्न
kick in Tagalog
sipain
kick in Arabic
رَفَسَ rafasa, رَكَلَ rakala, رَكْلَة rakla
kick in Malay
sepak, tendang, sepakan, tendangan
kick in Indonesian
tendang, menendang, menyepak, tendangan
kick in Persian
لگد زدن lagad zadan, لگد lagad
kick in Thai
เตะ dtè
kick in Vietnamese
đá, đòn đá, cú đá
kick in Myanmar
ကန် kan

Examples of kick in a sentence

  • A punt is made by letting the ball drop from the hands and kicking it just before it touches the ground.1905, Fielding H. Yost, chapter 6, in Football for Player and Spectator:
  • Will Henderson, who had on a light overcoat and no overshoes, kicked the heel of his left foot with the toe of the right.1919, Sherwood Anderson, “The Teacher: concerning Kate Swift”, in Winesburg, Ohio:
  • Dial 1-900-Mix-a-Lot and kick them nasty thoughts.1992, “Baby Got Back”, in Sir Mix-a-Lot (lyrics), Rick Rubin and Sir Mix-a-Lot (music), Mack Daddy, Def American Recordings:
  • Won't you get hip to this kindly tip / When you ride that California trip / Get your kicks on Route 661946, Bobby Troup, “Route 66”, performed by Nat King Cole:

All 40 example sentences with kick

Synonyms of kick

8 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of kick

Forms of kick

Verb
third-person singular presentkicks
present participlekicking
past participlekicked
pastkicked
second-person singular present (archaic)kickest
second-person singular past (archaic)kickedst
third-person singular present (archaic)kicketh
Noun
pluralkicks

Past tense of kick: kicked

Plural of kick: kicks

Origin of kick

From Middle English kyken (“to strike out with the foot”), from Old Norse kikna (“to sink at the knees”) and keikja (“to bend backwards”) (compare Old Norse keikr (“bent backwards, the belly jutting forward”)), from Proto-Germanic *kaikaz (“bent backwards”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Germanic *kī-, *kij- (“to split, dodge, swerve sidewards”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeyH- (“to sprout, shoot”). Compare also Dutch kijken (“to look”), Middle Low German kīken (“to look, watch”). See keek.

Shortening of kick the bucket.

Shortening of kick ass

Words formed from kick

Phrases with kick

127 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with kick

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about kick

What does kick mean?
Kick means to strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg.
What is kick in Hindi?
Kick in Hindi is लात मारना (lāt mārnā). See Kick meaning in Hindi.
How do you use kick in a sentence?
A punt is made by letting the ball drop from the hands and kicking it just before it touches the ground.
What part of speech is kick?
Kick can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce kick?
Kick is pronounced /kɪk/.
What is the past tense of kick?
The past tense of kick is kicked.

Words near kick in the dictionary

  1. kichlach
  2. Kichua
  3. Kichuas
  4. Kichwa
  5. Kicinski
  6. kick
  7. Kick 'em Jenny
  8. kick a dog when it's down
  9. kick about
  10. kick against
  11. kick against the pricks

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: kick (page history and authors); kick (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); kick (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); kick (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); kick (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); kick (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); kick (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); kick (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); kick (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); kick (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-kick.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-kick.wav.

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