kick

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See also:Kick

English

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Pronunciation

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  • enPR:kĭk,IPA(key):/kɪk/,[kʰɪk]
  • Audio(US):(file)
  • Rhymes:-ɪk

Etymology 1

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A boy kicking a ball.

FromMiddle Englishkyken(“to strike out with the foot”),fromOld Norsekikna(“to sink at the knees”)andkeikja(“to bend backwards”)(compareOld Norsekeikr(“bent backwards, the belly jutting forward”)), fromProto-Germanic*kaikaz(“bent backwards”),of uncertain origin. Perhaps fromProto-Germanic*kī-,*kij-(“to split, dodge, swerve sidewards”),fromProto-Indo-European*ǵeyH-(“to sprout, shoot”).Compare alsoDutchkijken(“to look”),Middle Low Germankīken(“to look, watch”).Seekeek.

Verb

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kick(third-person singular simple presentkicks,present participlekicking,simple past and past participlekicked)

  1. (transitive)Tostrikeorhitwith thefootor other extremity of theleg.
    Did youkickyour brother?
    • 1895,George MacDonald,Lilith,Chapter XII: Friends and Foes,
      I was cuffed by the women andkickedby the men because I would not swallow it.
    • 1905,Fielding H. Yost,chapter 6, inFootball for Player and Spectator:
      A punt is made by letting the ball drop from the hands andkickingit just before it touches the ground.
    • 1919,Sherwood Anderson,“The Teacher: concerning Kate Swift”, inWinesburg, Ohio:
      Will Henderson, who had on a light overcoat and no overshoes,kickedthe heel of his left foot with the toe of the right.
    • 2020September 9, Jason Chamberlain, “The growing likelihood of a 'different type of railway'”, inRail,page45:
      Or to put it in the more colourful language of our Prime Minister: "The secret to improving rail transport, in my view, is you need to find the right arse tokick."Unfortunately, since the abolition of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) in 2005, the DfT has ostensibly been in direct control of railway policy setting, and this has meant that the only arse the government has been able tokickis its own.
  2. (intransitive)To make a sharp jerking movement of the leg, as to strike something.
    He enjoyed the simple pleasure of watching the kicklinekick.
  3. (transitive)To direct to a particular place by a blow with the foot or leg.
    Kickthe ball into the goal.
  4. (with "off" or "out")Toejectsummarily.
    • 1936October,Robert E. Howard,“The Conquerin' Hero of the Humbolts”,inAction Stories:
      "He's been mad at me ever since I fired him off'n my payroll. After Ikickedhim 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 right out of house and home. "
    • 1976February 3,Bill Gates,An Open Letter to Hobbyists:
      They are the ones who give hobbyists a bad name, and should bekickedout of any club meeting they show up at.
    • 1992,“Baby Got Back”,inSir Mix-a-Lot(lyrics), Rick Rubin and Sir Mix-a-Lot (music),Mack Daddy,Def American Recordings:
      Dial 1-900-Mix-a-Lot andkickthem nasty thoughts.
  5. (transitive,Internet)To forcibly remove a participant from an online activity.
    She waskickedfrom theIRCserver for flooding.
  6. (transitive,slang)Toovercome(abothersomeordifficultissueorobstacle); to free oneself of (a problem).
    I still smoke, but they keep telling me tokickthe habit.
  7. To move or push suddenly and violently.
    He waskickedsideways by the force of the blast.
    • 2011,Tom Andry,Bob Moore: No Hero‎[1]:
      The back of the carkickedout violently, forcing me to steer into the slide and accelerate in order to maintain control.
  8. (of a firearm)Torecoil;to push by recoiling.
    • 2003,Jennifer C. D. Groomes,The Falcon Project,page174:
      Lying on the ground, when fired, itkickedme back a foot. There was no way a person my size was going to be able to do an effective job with this gun.
    • 2006,Daniel D. Scherschel,Maple Grove,page81:
      I asked my sister Jeanette if she wanted to shoot the 12 ga. shotgun. She replied, "does itkick"?
  9. (chess,transitive)Toattack(a piece) in order to force it to move.
  10. (intransitive,cycling)Toacceleratequickly with a fewpedalstrokesin an effort to break away from other riders.
    Contadorkicksagain to try to rid himself of Rasmussen.
  11. (intransitive)To showoppositionorresistance.
  12. (printing,historical)To work apressby impact of the foot on atreadle.
  13. (computing,transitive)Toreset(awatchdog timer).
    • 1999,Michael Barr,Programming Embedded Systems in C and C++,page98:
      In the meantime, it is possible for the embedded software to “kick”the watchdog timer, to reset its counter to the original large number.
    • 2012,Tarek Sobh, Khaled Elleithy,Emerging Trends in Computing, Informatics, Systems Sciences, and Engineering,page763:
      From now on the process has to periodicallykickthe watchdog timer in intervals shorter than the initialization interval.
  15. (reflexive,informal)Toreproachoneself for making amistakeor missing anopportunity.
    He's stillkickinghimself for not investing three years ago.
    Synonyms:beat oneself up,live to regret
Conjugation
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Conjugation ofkick
infinitive (to)kick
present tense past tense
1st-personsingularkick kicked
2nd-personsingular kick,kickest† kicked,kickedst†
3rd-personsingular kicks,kicketh† kicked
plural kick
subjunctive kick kicked
imperative kick —
participles kicking kicked
Descendants
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  • →German:kicken
  • →Welsh:cicio
Translations
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Noun

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kick(pluralkicks)

  1. Ahitorstrikewith theleg,footorknee.
    Synonym:calcation(rare)
    Akickto the knee.
  2. The action ofswingingafootorleg.
    The ballerina did a highkickand a leap.
  3. (colloquial)Something thatticklesthefancy;somethingfunoramusing;apleasure;athrill.
    I finally saw the show. What akick!
    I think I sprained something on my latest exercisekick.
    get akickout of;get one'skicks
    • 1946,Bobby Troup(lyrics and music), “Route 66”, performed by Nat King Cole:
      Won't you get hip to this kindly tip / When you ride that California trip / Get yourkickson Route 66
    • 1954January 4, “I Get aKickOut of You”, inSongs for Young Lovers‎[3],performed byFrank Sinatra:
      I get nokickfrom champagne. Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all. So tell me why should it be true that I get akickout of you. Some hey may go for cocaine. I'm sure that if I took even one sniff it would bore me terrifically, too. Yet, I get akickout of you.[…]I get nokickin a plane. Flying too high with some gal in the sky is my idea of nothing to do. Yet I get akick.You give me a boot. I get akickout of you.
    • 1957,Jack Kerouac,chapter 4, inOn the Road,Viking Press,→OCLC,part 2:
      «Ah, it’s all right, it’s justkicks.We only live once. We’re having a good time.»
    • 1964March 31, “Rival Teen‐Age Gangs Terrorize British Sea Resort”, inThe New York Times‎[4]:
      The “Mods” say it was the “Rockers” who came looking for trouble. Both groups, however, admit that they were “looking forkicks.”
    • 1965August, Mississippi Phil Ochs, “The Newport Fuzz Festival”, inThe Realist‎[5],number61,retrieved2022-11-13,page11:
      I have a theory […] that the Butterfield Band, who played in back of Dylan was really the Kingston Trio gettingkicks[…]
    • 1979,John O'Neill(lyrics and music), “Teenage Kicks”, performed by The Undertones:
      I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight / Get teenagekicksright through the night
    • 1996,Samuel Brittan,Capitalism with a human face,page136:
      This is a common experience among drug addicts who need stronger and stronger doses to regain the old 'kicks'.
    • 2010,Theodore J. Kaczynski,edited by David Skrbina,Technological Slavery,page385:
      They seek newkicks,new thrills, new adventures.
  4. (Internet)The removal of a person from an online activity.
  5. (figuratively)Any bucking motion of an object that lacks legs or feet.
    The car had a nastykickthe whole way.
    The pool ball took a wildkick,up off the table.
  6. (uncountableandcountable)Apungentorspicyflavour;piquancy.
    • 2002,Ellen and Michael Albertson,Temptations,Fireside,→ISBN,page 124[6]:
      Add a little cascabel pepper to ordinary tomato sauce to give it akick.
    • 2003,Sheree Bykofsky, Megan Buckley,Sexy City Cocktails‎[7],Adams Media,→ISBN,page129:
      For extrakick,hollow out a lime, float it on top of the drink, and fill it with tequila.
    • 2007August 27,Anthony Lane,“Lone Sailors”, inThe New Yorker,volume83,numbers22-28:
      The first time I saw "Deep Water," the trace of mystery in the Crowhurst affair gave the movie akickof excitement.
  7. Astimulationprovided by an intoxicating substance.
  8. (soccer)Apassplayed by kicking with the foot.
  9. (soccer)The distance traveled by kicking the ball.
    a longkickup the field.
  10. Therecoilof a gun.
  11. (informal)Apocket.[1]
    • 1946,Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow,Bernard Wolfe,“Quit Foolin’ with That Comb”, inReally the Blues,New York, N.Y.:Random House,book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child),page44:
      Some nights I’d try my luck in the crap game and wind up with a grand or more in mykick.
    • 1952,George Mandel,Flee the Angry Strangers,Bobs-Merrill,page383:
      Her mind couldn’t lose sight of […]the bloodied nickel plated pistol Angie had in hiskick.
    • 2008,P.G.Wodehouse,The Adventures of Sally (Volume 2 of 2)‎[8],ReadHowYouWant.com, page277:
      Swell shows all of ‘em, except this last one.[…]Set me back two-seventy-five, including tax, and I wish I’d got it in mykickright now.
    • 2008,Loren D. Estleman,Port Hazard:A Page Murdock Novel‎[9],Tom Doherty Associates:
      If you keep Nan’s advice you’ll keep it in yourkick.
    • 2012,Max Brand (Frederick Schiller Faust),Silvertip’s Trap,Adams Media:
      You take that and put it in yourkick.I’ve had plenty of cash out of you already.
  12. An increase in speed in the final part of a running race.
  13. (film,television)Synonym ofkicker(“backlight positioned at an angle”)
  14. (British,historical,dated,colloquial)Sixpence.
    • 1941,Eddie Latta,George Formby(lyrics and music), “Auntie Maggie's Remedy”, performed by George Formby:
      That's the stuff that will do the trick / Sold at every chemist for one and akick
  15. (colloquial)Ashoe.
Quotations
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Descendants
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Translations
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Derived terms

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Terms derived from the noun or verbkick

Etymology 2

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Shortening ofkick the bucket.

Verb

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kick(third-person singular simple presentkicks,present participlekicking,simple past and past participlekicked)

  1. (intransitive)Todie.
    • 2005,Melissa L. Rossi,What every American should know about who's really running the world‎[10],page211:
      Who knows what will happen to his billions when the eighty-five-year-oldkicks,but before he leaves the planet, Moon reportedly is hell-bent on creating a holy land in North Korea, dedicated to him.

Etymology 3

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Shortening ofkick ass

Verb

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kick(third-person singular simple presentkicks,present participlekicking,simple past and past participlekicked)

  1. (slang,intransitive)To be emphatically excellent.
    That band reallykicks.

References

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“kick”,inOneLook Dictionary Search.

  1. ^Eric Partridge(2013) “kick”, in Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor, editors,The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English,2nd edition, volumes I–II, Abingdon, Oxon., New York, N.Y.:Routledge,→ISBN,page1318.

Chinese

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Etymology

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Romanisation of撠(kik1,“to stumble; to trip over”),influenced by spelling ofEnglishkick.Not related toEnglishkicksemantically.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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kick

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese)Alternative form of撠(kik1,“to stumble; to trip over”)

Dutch

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Borrowing fromEnglishkick.

Noun

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kickm(pluralkicks)

  1. kick,thrill(something that excites or gives pleasure)

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the correspondinglemmaform.

Verb

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kick

  1. inflection ofkicken:
    1. first-personsingularpresentindicative
    2. imperative

German

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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kick

  1. singularimperativeofkicken
  2. (colloquial)first-personsingularpresentofkicken
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