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.

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.

Verb

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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?
    • 1895, George MacDonald, Lilith, Chapter XII: Friends and Foes,
      I was cuffed by the women and kicked by the men because I would not swallow it.
    • 1905, Fielding H. Yost, chapter 6, in Football for Player and Spectator:
      A punt is made by letting the ball drop from the hands and kicking it just before it touches the ground.
    • 1919, Sherwood Anderson, “The Teacher: concerning Kate Swift”, in Winesburg, Ohio:
      Will Henderson, who had on a light overcoat and no overshoes, kicked the heel of his left foot with the toe of the right.
    • 2020 September 9, Jason Chamberlain, “The growing likelihood of a 'different type of railway'”, in Rail, page 45:
      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 to kick." 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 to kick is 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 kickline kick.
  3. (transitive) To direct to a particular place by a blow with the foot or leg.
    Kick the ball into the goal.
  4. (with "off" or "out") To eject summarily.
    • 1936 October, Robert E. Howard, “The Conquerin' Hero of the Humbolts”, in Action Stories:
      "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 right out of house and home."
    • 1976 February 3, Bill Gates, An Open Letter to Hobbyists:
      They are the ones who give hobbyists a bad name, and should be kicked out of any club meeting they show up at.
    • 1992, “Baby Got Back”, in Sir Mix-a-Lot (lyrics), Rick Rubin and Sir Mix-a-Lot (music), Mack Daddy, Def American Recordings:
      Dial 1-900-Mix-a-Lot and kick them nasty thoughts.
  5. (transitive, Internet) To forcibly remove a participant from an online activity.
    She was kicked from the IRC server for flooding.
  6. (transitive, slang) 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.
    • 2011, Tom Andry, Bob Moore: No Hero‎[1]:
      The back of the car kicked out violently, forcing me to steer into the slide and accelerate in order to maintain control.
  8. (of a firearm) To recoil; to push by recoiling.
    • 2003, Jennifer C. D. Groomes, The Falcon Project, page 174:
      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.
    • 2006, Daniel D. Scherschel, Maple Grove, page 81:
      I asked my sister Jeanette if she wanted to shoot the 12 ga. shotgun. She replied, "does it kick"?
  9. (chess, transitive) To attack (a piece) in order to force it to move.
  10. (intransitive, cycling) 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.
  12. (printing, historical) To work a press by impact of the foot on a treadle.
  13. (computing, transitive) To reset (a watchdog timer).
    • 1999, Michael Barr, Programming Embedded Systems in C and C++, page 98:
      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, page 763:
      From now on the process has to periodically kick the watchdog timer in intervals shorter than the initialization interval.
  15. (reflexive, informal) 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
Conjugation
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Conjugation of kick
infinitive (to) kick
present tense past tense
1st-person singular kick kicked
2nd-person singular kick, kickest† kicked, kickedst†
3rd-person singular kicks, kicketh† kicked
plural kick
subjunctive kick kicked
imperative kick —
participles kicking kicked

†Archaic or obsolete.

Descendants
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  • → German: kicken
  • → Welsh: cicio
Translations
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Noun

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kick (plural kicks)

  1. A hit or strike with the leg, foot or knee.
    Synonym: calcation (rare)
    A kick to the knee.
  2. The action of swinging a foot or leg.
    The ballerina did a high kick and a leap.
  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.
    get a kick out of; get one's kicks
    • 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 your kicks on Route 66
    • 1954 January 4, “I Get a Kick Out of You”, in Songs for Young Lovers‎[3], performed by Frank Sinatra:
      I get no kick from champagne. Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all. So tell me why should it be true that I get a kick out 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 a kick out of you. […] I get no kick in a plane. Flying too high with some gal in the sky is my idea of nothing to do. Yet I get a kick. You give me a boot. I get a kick out of you.
    • 1957, Jack Kerouac, chapter 4, in On the Road, Viking Press, →OCLC, part 2:
      «Ah, it’s all right, it’s just kicks. We only live once. We’re having a good time.»
    • 1964 March 31, “Rival Teen‐Age Gangs Terrorize British Sea Resort”, in The New York Times‎[4]:
      The “Mods” say it was the “Rockers” who came looking for trouble. Both groups, however, admit that they were “looking for kicks.”
    • 1965 August, Mississippi Phil Ochs, “The Newport Fuzz Festival”, in The Realist‎[5], number 61, retrieved 2022-11-13, page 11:
      I have a theory […] that the Butterfield Band, who played in back of Dylan was really the Kingston Trio getting kicks […]
    • 1979, John O'Neill (lyrics and music), “Teenage Kicks”, performed by The Undertones:
      I wanna hold her, wanna hold her tight / Get teenage kicks right through the night
    • 1996, Samuel Brittan, Capitalism with a human face, page 136:
      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, page 385:
      They seek new kicks, 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 nasty kick the whole way.
    The pool ball took a wild kick, up off the table.
  6. (uncountable and countable) A pungent or spicy flavour; piquancy.
    • 2002, Ellen and Michael Albertson, Temptations, Fireside, →ISBN, page 124 [6]:
      Add a little cascabel pepper to ordinary tomato sauce to give it a kick.
    • 2003, Sheree Bykofsky, Megan Buckley, Sexy City Cocktails‎[7], Adams Media, →ISBN, page 129:
      For extra kick, hollow out a lime, float it on top of the drink, and fill it with tequila.
    • 2007 August 27, Anthony Lane, “Lone Sailors”, in The New Yorker, volume 83, numbers 22-28:
      The first time I saw "Deep Water," the trace of mystery in the Crowhurst affair gave the movie a kick of excitement.
  7. A stimulation provided by an intoxicating substance.
  8. (soccer) A pass played by kicking with the foot.
  9. (soccer) The distance traveled by kicking the ball.
    a long kick up the field.
  10. The recoil of a gun.
  11. (informal) A pocket.[1]
    • 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:
      Some nights I’d try my luck in the crap game and wind up with a grand or more in my kick.
    • 1952, George Mandel, Flee the Angry Strangers, Bobs-Merrill, page 383:
      Her mind couldn’t lose sight of […]the bloodied nickel plated pistol Angie had in his kick.
    • 2008, P.G.Wodehouse, The Adventures of Sally (Volume 2 of 2)‎[8], ReadHowYouWant.com, page 277:
      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 my kick right 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 your kick.
    • 2012, Max Brand (Frederick Schiller Faust), Silvertip’s Trap, Adams Media:
      You take that and put it in your kick. 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 of kicker (“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 a kick
  15. (colloquial) A shoe.
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 verb kick

Etymology 2

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Shortening of kick the bucket.

Verb

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

  1. (intransitive) To die.
    • 2005, Melissa L. Rossi, What every American should know about who's really running the world‎[10], page 211:
      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.

Etymology 3

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Shortening of kick ass

Verb

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

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

References

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“kick”, in OneLook 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, page 1318.

Chinese

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Etymology

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

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 from English kick.

Noun

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kick m (plural kicks)

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

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

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kick

  1. inflection of kicken:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
    3. imperative

German

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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kick

  1. singular imperative of kicken
  2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of kicken
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