Word.ws English Dictionary

kickboxing

/ˈkɪk.bɒk.sɪŋ/

kickboxing noun: a hybrid martial art derived from Muay Thai, karate, and especially boxing during the 1960s to 1970s; more generally, any stand-up combat sport that combines kicks and punches. Also the present participle and gerund of kickbox.

Noun

kickboxing (uncountable)

  1. A hybrid martial art derived from Muay Thai, karate, and especially boxing during the 1960s to 1970s; more generally, any stand-up combat sport that combines kicks and punches.
    • Ex world’s champion [Georges] Carpentier was also expert at kick-boxing.1940 August 4, Daily Telegraph, Sydney, page 2
    • The Japanese kickboxing gym, recently opened in the Thai capital, had been a great success1973 March, Black Belt magazine, page 13

Also used as

kickboxing is also the present participle and gerund of kickbox.

kickboxing meaning in Arabic, Malay, Indonesian and Thai

kickboxing in Arabic

sport
كِيك بُوكْس kik buks

kickboxing in Malay

sport
kickboxing

kickboxing in Indonesian

sport
kickboxing

kickboxing in Thai

sport
คิกบ็อกซิ่ง khik b̆ xk sìng, มวยไทย mwythịy
More languagesFewer languages
kickboxing in Vietnamese
quyền cước

Forms of kickboxing

alternative formkick-boxing
alternative formkick boxing

Origin of kickboxing

Borrowed from Japanese キックボクシング (kikkubokushingu), from English kick + boxing. Possibly coined by Japanese businessman Osamu Noguchi in 1964.

Questions about kickboxing

What does kickboxing mean?
Kickboxing means a hybrid martial art derived from Muay Thai, karate, and especially boxing during the 1960s to 1970s; more generally, any stand-up combat sport that combines kicks and punches.
What is kickboxing in Arabic?
Kickboxing in Arabic is كِيك بُوكْس (kik buks). See Kickboxing meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is kickboxing?
Kickboxing is a noun.
How do you pronounce kickboxing?
Kickboxing is pronounced /ˈkɪk.bɒk.sɪŋ/.

Words near kickboxing in the dictionary

  1. kickbox
  2. kickboxed
  3. kickboxer
  4. kickboxers
  5. kickboxes
  6. kickboxing
  7. kickdown
  8. kickdowns
  9. kickdrum
  10. kickdrums
  11. kicked

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: kickboxing (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:

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

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