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kick

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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

kick¹

  • /kɪk/
  • [kʰɪk]

Rhymes with -ɪk

Where it comes from

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 kicks · kicking · kicked · kick

  1. transitive To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg. Did you kick your brother?
  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. To eject summarily. "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 r
  5. Internet, transitive To forcibly remove a participant from an online activity. She was kicked from the IRC server for flooding.
  6. slang, transitive 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.
  8. To recoil; to push by recoiling. 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.
  9. transitive To attack (a piece) in order to force it to move.
  10. intransitive 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. "My expenses always are reasonable—I mean there is always a reason for them. But I notice that you don't kick at the other item. That doesn't look as if you were exactly optimistic of striking a gold mine, Joolby."
  12. Of an engine, to engage; to start. The grey Bentley convertible, the 1933 4½-litre with the Amherst-Villiers supercharger, had been brought round a few minutes earlier from the garage where he kept it and the engine had kicked directly he pressed the self-starter.
  13. historical To work a press by impact of the foot on a treadle.
  14. transitive To reset (a watchdog timer). In the meantime, it is possible for the embedded software to “kick” the watchdog timer, to reset its counter to the original large number.
  15. informal, reflexive To reproach oneself for making a mistake or missing an opportunity. He's still kicking himself for not investing three years ago.

noun kicks

  1. countable, uncountable A hit or strike with the leg, foot or knee. A kick to the knee.
  2. countable, uncountable The action of swinging a foot or leg. The ballerina did a high kick and a leap.
  3. countable, uncountable A kicking motion used in a swim stroke. These boys all use a kick similar to the kick presented here however, in some cases it is less modified than in others.
  4. colloquial, countable, uncountable Something that tickles the fancy; something fun or amusing; a pleasure; a thrill. I finally saw the show. What a kick!
  5. Internet, countable, uncountable The removal of a person from an online activity.
  6. countable, uncountable The act of restarting or resetting a watchdog timer.
  7. countable, figuratively, uncountable Any bucking motion of an object that lacks legs or feet. The car had a nasty kick the whole way.
  8. countable, uncountable A pungent or spicy flavour; piquancy. Add a little cascabel pepper to ordinary tomato sauce to give it a kick.
  9. countable, uncountable A stimulation provided by an intoxicating substance.
  10. countable, uncountable A pass played by kicking with the foot.
  11. countable, uncountable The distance traveled by kicking the ball. a long kick up the field.
  12. countable, uncountable The recoil of a gun.
  13. countable, informal, uncountable A pocket. Some nights I’d try my luck in the crap game and wind up with a grand or more in my kick.
  14. countable, uncountable An increase in speed in the final part of a running race.
  15. countable, uncountable Synonym of kicker (“backlight positioned at an angle”).
  16. UK, colloquial, countable, dated, historical, uncountable Sixpence. Two and a kick—two shillings and a kick.
  17. colloquial, countable, uncountable A shoe. All the other kids with the pumped up kicks / You better run, better run, outrun my gun
  18. abbreviation, clipping, countable, uncountable Clipping of kickdrum; a 808.kickdrum

kick²

  • /kɪk/
  • [kʰɪk]

Rhymes with -ɪk

Where it comes from

Shortening of kick the bucket.

verb kicks · kicking · kicked

  1. intransitive To die. 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.

kick³

  • /kɪk/
  • [kʰɪk]

Rhymes with -ɪk

Where it comes from

Shortening of kick ass

verb kicks · kicking · kicked

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

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