kicks

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of kick.

   A flurry of kicks ended the round in the fighter's favor.

   The swimmer practiced strong, even kicks down the length of the lane.

   Note

   The ordinary plural covers any countable kick: blows in a fight, the strokes of a swimmer's legs, thrills that tickle the fancy, removals from an online game, the bucking of a legless object. Each of those meanings can also be used uncountably, with no plural at all. The same spelling is also the verb's present form, so the surrounding words decide which one you are reading.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of kick.

   The mule kicks at anyone who walks too close to its stall.

   Whenever the engine starts cold, it kicks and shudders before it settles.

   Note

   The -s form follows the verb's two grammatical patterns. It takes an object when it means striking, sending or ejecting (the mule kicks the door; the moderator kicks a player). It stands alone for the sharp jerk of a leg or an engine (it kicks and shudders). In slang it also means overcoming a problem, and then it always takes an object.

3. 3
   nouncolloquialplural

   An informal term for shoes.

   She laced up her favorite kicks before heading to the court.

   Half the line outside the store was just for the limited-edition kicks.

   Similarsneakers, trainers, shoes

   Note

   Slang for footwear that exists only in the plural: there is no single "kick" for one shoe, and the word takes a plural verb (my kicks are new). It sits comfortably beside clothing talk. MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" (1990) pairs newly bought kicks with pants as part of looking sharp, so reserve it for casual talk about style, not a shoe-store invoice.

4. 4
   nouncolloquialplural

   A prison commissary, or the balance remaining in someone's commissary account.

   He put twenty dollars on a friend's kicks so the man could buy soap.

   There wasn't much left in her kicks after the holidays.

   Similarcommissary

   Note

   Inside prison talk the word becomes an account. It is usually possessive (your kicks, a friend's kicks), and money is put in it or on it the way one tops up a balance. Like the slang word for shoes, it has no singular. Anyone hearing "forty cents in his kicks" is hearing about spending money, not footwear.

Showing meanings only. Show all 4