kick
Noun pluralkicks
Pluralkicks
- 1To hit someone or something with the foot or another part of the leg, the point being the blow itself rather than where the thing ends up.
The horse kicked the fence in frustration.
Don't kick the vending machine just because it kept your money.
UsageYou kick someone in the leg or under the table; kick at something means aim a kick, maybe missing.
- 2A single blow struck with the foot, leg, or knee, as when someone gives a person or a door a kick.
A single kick from the mule could break a bone.
The fighter landed a spinning kick to his opponent's ribs.
UsageUsually give something a kick or land a kick, often a kick to or in a body part.
Similarblow
Note
Football reporting even measures time in kicks, as when Phil McNulty notes that Elsad Zverotic scored "with the last kick of the first half," meaning at the very last moment.
- 3To remove or throw someone out suddenly and without ceremony.
The club kicked him out for cheating.
Most bars kick out anyone who starts a fight.
UsageUsually kick someone out (of a place) or off a team, bus or site.
Similarexpel, eject, oust, boot, remove
Note
Robert E. Howard's rancher has "kicked him off'n my ranch," and Bill Gates, in his 1976 Open Letter to Hobbyists, wants resellers of Altair BASIC "kicked out of any club meeting they show up at."
- 4
- 5To thrust out the leg or legs with quick, sharp movements, without necessarily striking anything, as a struggling child does.
The swimmer kicked steadily to stay afloat.
Newborn foals kick instinctively within hours of birth.
Note
Here the motion is the whole point, and no object is needed. Anna Sewell's colts in Black Beauty "bite and kick as well as gallop," and a kickline simply kicks. Swimmers and restless children kick in this sense too. Add a target and the verb becomes the striking sense. Freddie Bobbsey's "kick real hard into the air" shows how a phrase of direction can follow without supplying an object.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Anna Sewell wrote Black Beauty. gutenberg.org
- Black Beauty describes the colts with the exact quoted wording. gutenberg.org
- The quoted phrase describes Freddie Bobbsey kicking into the air; it is narration about his action. gutenberg.org
- 6A pass played by striking the ball with the foot.
The midfielder's precise kick found a teammate at the far post.
A well-placed kick switched the play to the open wing.
Note
Football commentary uses kick for any ball played with the foot. The word separates a pass of this kind from a header or a throw-in, whatever its length, height or trajectory. It is a plain, almost generic term, so commentators usually qualify it with long, short, low or high when the shape of the pass matters.
- 7A feeling of pleasure, fun, or excitement.
He gets a kick out of solving tricky puzzles.
My grandmother still gets a kick out of beating her grandchildren at cards, and she never lets them forget it.
UsageUsually get a kick out of something; for kicks means just for fun.
- 8A pungent, spicy quality in the flavor of food or drink.
The curry's kick came from a generous spoon of fresh chili.
A dash of mustard gives the dressing a pleasant kick.
UsageUsually give something a kick or have a kick: a salsa with a nice kick.
Similarzing, bite, punch, heat, tang
Note
The word travels well beyond food. Anthony Lane, writing in The New Yorker in 2007, finds that a trace of mystery gave a film "a kick of excitement." The meaning is a sharp, enlivening edge rather than plain heat.
- 9To be outstandingly good or impressive.
Like fireworks that pull a gasp from the whole crowd.
Their live shows really kick, and tickets sell out in minutes.
This taco place kicks, and the line out the door proves it.
UsageOften with really, and never with an object: the band really kicks. Out of place in formal writing.
Similarrock, rule, excel, shine, slay
Note
A shortening of kick ass with the rude half removed: "That band really kicks."
- 10A movement made by swinging out a foot or leg, whether to strike, swim, or dance.
The dancer's high kick drew applause.
A strong kick propelled the swimmer forward.
- 11To overcome a difficult problem or free oneself of a bad habit.
After years of trying, he kicked his caffeine dependence.
Support groups help people kick addictions that once ruled their lives.
UsageMost often in kick the habit, usually of smoking or drugs; you can also kick an addiction.
- 12
- 13
- 14A brief phase of intense enthusiasm for some particular activity or interest, most often described as being "on a … kick".
Dad has been on a fitness kick since January and jogs before work every morning.
After the documentary, the whole office went on a Japanese-food kick that lasted about three weeks.
UsageUsually be on or go on a fitness, health or baking kick; it suggests the craze will soon pass.
- 15To put points or a goal on the board by kicking the ball, in sports such as American football, rugby, or Australian rules football.
The rookie kicked a 52-yard field goal to send the game into overtime.
Players who can kick goals from tight angles are prized in Australian rules football.
Similarscore
Note
Here the object of the verb is the score, not the ball: a player kicks a goal or a field goal much as one scores it. That sets it apart from the plain striking sense, where the object is whatever the foot hits. A distance often rides along as a compound before the noun, as in a 52-yard field goal.
Less common meanings
- 16To blame oneself angrily for a mistake or a missed opportunity.
She kicked herself for missing such an easy chance.
Investors kick themselves when they sell too early.
UsageUsually kick yourself for + -ing (kicking himself for not buying); I could kick myself is a common phrase.
Similarblame, berate, reproach
Oppositecongratulate
Note
Beat oneself up is close but usually suggests harsher, more punishing self-criticism, while kick oneself is the sharp regret of a mistake or a chance missed, even years later. Live to regret looks forward to the regret instead of dwelling in it.
- 17In an online game, chat room, or server, to force a player or user out against their will, typically by the act of a moderator, host, or automatic system.
Like a bouncer walking someone out the door, though they might line up to get back in.
The server owner kicked three users for flooding the channel.
If you kick someone, they can usually rejoin unless you also ban them.
UsageUsually kick someone from a server, channel or game.
Similarboot
Note
The online moderator's verb dates back to chat servers like IRC, where a user could be kicked for flooding. The line worth keeping clear is the one with a ban. A kick removes someone now, while a ban keeps them out, so a kicked user can usually reconnect at once unless separately barred.
- 18A shoe, particularly a fashionable sneaker prized for its style.
Like calling your sunglasses your 'shades': casual slang for everyday gear.
Those kicks cost him a week's pay, but he loves them.
He wiped a smudge off his left kick before the photo.
UsageUsually plural: a pair of kicks, new kicks.
Note
Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks" (2010) shows the usual shape: kicks, with a description in front. The word leans toward sneakers prized for their look.
- 19To cease to live; 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 worldSimilardie, perish, croak, expire
Note
A clipped form of kick the bucket, with the bucket dropped and the flippancy kept. It stands alone and takes no object, as when Melissa L. Rossi wonders what will happen to the billions "when the eighty-five-year-old kicks." Its tone is blunt and irreverent, so it suits joking or cynical talk and never a condolence.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Kick meaning "die" is a shortening of "kick the bucket". en.wiktionary.org
- Melissa L. Rossi uses the quoted wording while wondering what will happen to someone's billions. en.wiktionary.org
- 20A sudden backward jolt, especially that of a gun when it is fired; recoil.
The old rifle had a fierce kick that surprised first-time shooters.
He braced his shoulder against the gun's kick before squeezing the trigger.
Similarjolt
- 21To express opposition or push back against something.
Like a horse that refuses the saddle and fights the rider.
Voters kick against tax hikes whenever they are proposed.
The committee kicked against the director's sudden changes.
UsageUsually kick against something: a rule, a plan, a change.
- 22The act of forcibly removing a person from an online game, chat, or server.
Like being shown out of a club, with the option of coming back later.
Repeated spam usually results in a kick from the channel.
The kick took effect the moment he posted the banned link.
Note
The moderator's action counted as an event: a kick, repeated kicks, a kick from the channel. Everything said about the verb of online removal applies here, including the line between a kick and a ban. A kick is a removal, and a ban is an exclusion.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- A kick forcibly removes a user from a channel. rfc-editor.org
- A ban excludes a user from a channel. rfc-editor.org
- 23A surge of increased speed during the final stretch of a running race.
Like a sprinter's final burst, but held in reserve for the closing stretch of a longer race.
The miler unleashed a powerful kick to pass two rivals before the line.
Lacking a finishing kick, he faded in the closing meters.
- 24Of a gun or similar device, to jerk back suddenly against the person holding it when it is fired or set off.
The pistol kicked back the moment he pulled the trigger.
Cheap shotguns kick more than well-balanced ones.
Similarrecoil, buck, jerk, jump
Note
This is gun talk: a firearm kicks when the shot drives it back into the shooter. Daniel D. Scherschel's sister asks of a 12-gauge simply, "does it kick?" That intransitive question is the commonest use. The verb can also take the shooter as object, as when a novel's narrator, firing while lying on the ground, says the gun "kicked me back a foot." The noun for the jolt itself is the recoil of a gun.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Daniel D. Scherschel recounts his sister asking whether a 12-gauge shotgun kicks, using the quoted words. en.wiktionary.org
- 25The distance a ball travels when struck with the foot.
Like measuring the carry of a golf drive, but off a boot instead of a club.
The fullback's kick covered almost the length of the pitch.
A stiff wind shortened the kick, leaving the ball well short of goal.
- 26Of a cyclist, to raise the speed suddenly with a few hard pedal strokes in order to break away from other riders.
Like flooring the gas to pull away from the car beside you at a green light.
On the steepest part of the climb, the race leader rose out of the saddle to kick, and within seconds the other riders had fallen behind.
Sprinters kick in the last hundred meters to claim the stage.
Similaraccelerate, sprint
Note
Road racing's word for the sudden attack: "Contador kicks again to try to rid himself of Rasmussen." The effort is short, just a few hard pedal strokes, and the aim is a gap rather than a sustained pace. The verb is intransitive, so riders kick away from the group, not kick it. Runners use a related noun for the finishing burst.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The quoted example appears with this exact wording; no speaker or historical occasion is attributed. en.wiktionary.org
- The cycling effort involves a few pedal strokes intended to break away from other riders. en.wikipedia.org
- 27In chess, to attack an opponent's piece in order to force it to move.
- 28In computing, to reset a watchdog timer, signaling that the system is still functioning normally.
- 29A pocket in clothing, such as one in a pair of pants.
If you keep Nan’s advice you’ll keep it in your kick.
2008, Loren D. Estleman, Port Hazard - 30In film and television lighting, a backlight set at an angle to a subject, producing a highlighted edge that separates them from the background.
- 31To operate a printing press by pressing the foot down on a treadle.
- 32A sixpenny coin, or the sum of six old pence.
Two and a kick—two shillings and a kick.
1912, French's Acting Edition of Plays, Dramas
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
Middle English kyken ("to strike out with the foot") is linked to two Old Norse verbs, kikna ("to sink at the knees") and keikja ("to bend backwards"). Behind them lies Proto-Germanic *kaikaz ("bent backwards"), whose origin is uncertain; it may come in the end from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to sprout, shoot."
A shortening of the expression kick the bucket.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Kick, meaning 'to die', is a shortening of 'kick the bucket'. en.wiktionary.org
A shortening of the expression kick ass.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Kick, meaning to be emphatically excellent, is a shortening of kick ass. en.wiktionary.org