kick
/kɪk/ verb, noun
Forms kicks kicking kicked kickest kickedst kicketh
- verb (transitive) To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg. “Did you kick your brother?”
- verb (intransitive) To make a sharp jerking movement of the leg, as to strike something. “He enjoyed the simple pleasure of watching the kickline kick.”
- verb (transitive) To direct to a particular place by a blow with the foot or leg. “Kick the ball into the goal.”
- verb (with "off" or "out") To eject summarily.
- verb (transitive, Internet) To forcibly remove a participant from an online activity. “She was kicked from the IRC server for flooding.”
- verb (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.”
- verb To move or push suddenly and violently. “He was kicked sideways by the force of the blast.”
- verb (of a firearm) To recoil; to push by recoiling.
- noun A hit or strike with the leg, foot or knee. “A kick to the knee.”
- noun The action of swinging a foot or leg. “The ballerina did a high kick and a leap.”
- noun (swimming) A kicking motion used in a swim stroke.
- noun (colloquial) Something that tickles the fancy; something fun or amusing; a pleasure; a thrill. “I finally saw the show. What a kick!”
- noun (Internet) The removal of a person from an online activity.
- noun (computer hardware) The act of restarting or resetting a watchdog timer.
- noun (figuratively) Any bucking motion of an object that lacks legs or feet. “The car had a nasty kick the whole way.”
- noun (uncountable and countable) A pungent or spicy flavour; piquancy.
- verb (intransitive) To die.
- verb (slang, intransitive) To be emphatically excellent. “That band really kicks.”
Synonyms
balk object beat oneself up live to regret calcation kicker bang rock rule slap devour eat eat and leave no crumbs excel go hard kick ass shine slay boot kicking charge rush flush thrill recoil gripe beef bitch squawk kick back
Etymology
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.
Shortening of kick the bucket.
Shortening of kick ass
Webster’s 1913
- verb To strike, thrust, or hit violently with the foot; as, a horse kicks a groom; a man kicks a dog. He [Frederick the Great] kicked the shins of his judges. Macaulay.
- verb To thrust out the foot or feet with violence; to strike out with the foot or feet, as in defense or in bad temper; esp., to strike backward, as a horse does, or to have a habit of doing so. Hence, figuratively: To show ugly resistance, opposition, or hostility; to spurn.
- verb To recoil; --said of a musket, cannon, etc.
- noun A blow with the foot or feet; a striking or thrust with the foot.
Etymology [W. cicio, fr. cic foot.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “kick”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details