verb | noun
kickkick1 /kɪk/ ●●● S1 W3 verb 1
HIT WITH YOUR FOOT [intransitive, transitive] to hit someone or something with your foot: Stop kicking! The kid behind me kept kicking the back of my seat.kick something in/down/over etc. Billy was kicking a ball around the yard.kick somebody in the head/face/stomach etc. Murray kicked him in the face. He went to the nearest door and kicked it open. Lewis kicked the winning goal.2MOVE YOUR LEGS [intransitive, transitive] to move your legs as if you were kicking something: One boy lay on the floor, kicking and screaming.kick your legs/feet Casey was waving her arms and kicking her feet in the air.3kick yourself said when you are annoyed with yourself because you realize that you have made a mistake or missed a chance: I could have kicked myself for getting her name wrong.4kick a habit to stop doing something, such as smoking or taking drugs, that is a harmful habit: After nearly 60 years of smoking, it’s hard to kick the habit.5kick somebody when he/she is down to criticize or attack someone who is already in a weak position or having difficulties: The newspapers cannot resist kicking a man when he is down.6kicking and screaming protesting violently or being very unwilling to do something: The company was dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.7kick somebody in the teeth/stomach/pants etc. informal to disappoint or upset someone very much, especially when he or she needs support or hope8be kicking (it) spoken to be relaxing and having a good time9kick somebody upstairs to move someone to a job that seems to be more important than his or her present one, but that actually has less influence or power10kick the bucket humorous to diekick around phrasal verb informal1kick somebody ↔ around to treat someone badly and unfairly: Don’t let your sister kick you around like that!2kick something ↔ around to think about something a lot or ask other people’s opinions about it before making a decision: Mom’s been kicking around the idea of moving to Florida.3 kick around something to move around a place without having a plan of what to do or where to go: We kicked around downtown all morning.kick back phrasal verb informal1 to relax and not worry about your problems: I’m just going to kick back and wait for the end of the semester.2 kick something ↔ back to secretly or illegally pay someone part of the money you get from a deal because he or she has helped you to make the deal in some waykick something ↔ down phrasal verb to cause a door or other structure to break and fall down by kicking itkick in phrasal verb1 informal to begin to have an effect or come into operation: Around noon, my cold medicine kicked in.2 kick in something informal to join with others in giving money or help SYN contribute: Our company kicked in $5,000 for the school’s music program.3kick somebody’s face/head/teeth in informal to severely hurt someone by kicking him or her in the face, head, etc.: If Jared says one more thing, I’m going to kick his head in.4kick something ↔ in to kick something such as a door so hard that it breaks open: Firemen kicked in the door and rescued three children.kick off phrasal verb1 informal when a game of football kicks off, it starts: The Jets–Lions game kicks off at 1 o’clock.2 kick something ↔ off informal if you kick off a meeting, event, etc., or if it kicks off, it starts: kick off with Our annual conference kicked off with a speech from the president. The Poetry Center kicks off its fall reading series at 8 p.m. Wednesday.3kick your shoes off (also kick off your shoes) to remove your shoes by shaking them off your feet4kick somebody off something to force someone to leave a group, or leave a place: Joe was kicked off the team.5 spoken to die: It’s only been about a month since Joe kicked off.kick somebody out phrasal verb to make someone leave or dismiss someone: I can’t believe that Glen’s wife kicked him out.kick somebody out of something What did you do to get kicked out of the restaurant?kick up phrasal verb1kick up a fuss/controversy/debate etc. to cause people to start complaining or arguing about something: Mom kicked up a fuss when Dad told her how much the car cost.2kick up your heels to dance with a lot of energy and enjoyment3kick something ↔ up to make something, especially dust, go up into the air by walking or moving: The bulldozers kicked up so much dust that you could hardly see.4kick something ↔ up informal to increase something: Saudi Arabia is kicking up its oil production. verb | noun
kickkick2 ●●● S2 noun [countable] 1an act of hitting someone or something with your foot: If the door won’t open, just give it a good kick.2an act of kicking a ball in a sports game, or the ball that is kicked and the direction in which it goes: Bahr’s kick went just to the left of the goal post.3a kick in the teeth/stomach/pants etc. informal something that is very disappointing or upsetting, especially when you need support or hope: Finding out that Roger lied to me was a real kick in the pants.4a kick in the pants/rear etc. informal criticism or strong words of encouragement that make someone start doing something, work faster, etc.: Somebody needs to give the staff a good, swift kick in the pants.5[singular] informal a feeling of excitement you get from doing something enjoyable: I get a real kick out of watching my two cats play.6do something (just) for kicks (also get your kicks (from) doing something) informal to do something, especially something dangerous or harmful, in order to get a feeling of excitement: Kent blew up things just for kicks.7[singular] informal the strong effect of a drug or an alcoholic drink, or the strong spicy taste of food: The sauce has a real kick to it.8be on a health/decorating/dieting etc. kick informal to have a strong new interest in something9something is better than a kick in the pants/teeth etc. informal humorous used to say that something is good or acceptable, even if it is not perfect