KICK

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does kick mean? 

• KICK (noun)
  The noun KICK has 6 senses:

1. the act of delivering a blow with the foot

2. the swift release of a store of affective force

3. the backward jerk of a gun when it is fired

4. informal terms for objecting

5. the sudden stimulation provided by strong drink (or certain drugs)

6. a rhythmic thrusting movement of the legs as in swimming or calisthenics

  Familiarity information: KICK used as a noun is common.

• KICK (verb)
  The verb KICK has 8 senses:

1. drive or propel with the foot

2. thrash about or strike out with the feet

3. strike with the foot

4. kick a leg up

5. spring back, as from a forceful thrust

6. stop consuming

7. make a goal

8. express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness

  Familiarity information: KICK used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KICK (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of delivering a blow with the foot

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

boot; kick; kicking

Context example:

the team's kicking was excellent

Hypernyms ("kick" is a kind of...):

blow (a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "kick"):

goal-kick ((rugby) an attempt to kick a goal)

punt; punting ((football) a kick in which the football is dropped from the hands and kicked before it touches the ground)

place-kicking; place kick ((sports) a kick in which the ball is placed on the ground before kicking)

dropkick ((football) kicking (as for a field goal) in which the football is dropped and kicked as it touches the ground)

goal-kick ((association football) a kick by the defending side after the attacking side sends the ball over the goal-line)

Derivation:

kick (drive or propel with the foot)

kick (strike with the foot)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The swift release of a store of affective force

Classified under:

Nouns denoting feelings and emotions

Synonyms:

bang; boot; charge; flush; kick; rush; thrill

Context example:

he does it for kicks

Hypernyms ("kick" is a kind of...):

excitement; exhilaration (the feeling of lively and cheerful joy)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The backward jerk of a gun when it is fired

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

kick; recoil

Hypernyms ("kick" is a kind of...):

motion; movement (a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something)

Derivation:

kick (spring back, as from a forceful thrust)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Informal terms for objecting

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

beef; bitch; gripe; kick; squawk

Context example:

I have a gripe about the service here

Hypernyms ("kick" is a kind of...):

objection (the speech act of objecting)

Derivation:

kick (express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The sudden stimulation provided by strong drink (or certain drugs)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

a sidecar is a smooth drink but it has a powerful kick

Hypernyms ("kick" is a kind of...):

input; stimulant; stimulation; stimulus (any stimulating information or event; acts to arouse action)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A rhythmic thrusting movement of the legs as in swimming or calisthenics

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

kick; kicking

Context example:

the swimmer's kicking left a wake behind him

Hypernyms ("kick" is a kind of...):

motility; motion; move; movement (a change of position that does not entail a change of location)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "kick"):

swimming kick (a movement of the legs in swimming)

Derivation:

kick (thrash about or strike out with the feet)

• KICK (verb)

Conjugation:

Sense 1

Meaning:

Drive or propel with the foot

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "kick" is one way to...):

impel; propel (cause to move forward with force)

"Kick" entails doing...:

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Domain category:

athletics; sport (an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "kick"):

drop-kick; dropkick (drop and kick (a ball) as it touches the ground, as for a field goal)

place-kick (kick (a ball) from a stationary position, in football)

drop-kick; dropkick (make the point after a touchdown with a dropkick)

punt (kick the ball)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

kick (the act of delivering a blow with the foot)

kicker (a player who kicks the football)

kicking (the act of delivering a blow with the foot)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Thrash about or strike out with the feet

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "kick" is one way to...):

strike out (make a motion as with one's fist or foot towards an object or away from one's body)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Derivation:

kick (a rhythmic thrusting movement of the legs as in swimming or calisthenics)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Strike with the foot

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

Kick the door down

Hypernyms (to "kick" is one way to...):

hit (deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "kick"):

scuff (poke at with the foot or toe)

boot (kick; give a boot to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They want to kick the prisoners

Also:

kick in (open violently)

kick up (cause to rise by kicking)

kick out (remove from a position or office)

kick down (open violently)

Derivation:

kick; kicking (the act of delivering a blow with the foot)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Kick a leg up

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "kick" is one way to...):

dance; trip the light fantastic; trip the light fantastic toe (move in a pattern; usually to musical accompaniment; do or perform a dance)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 5

Meaning:

Spring back, as from a forceful thrust

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

kick; kick back; recoil

Context example:

The gun kicked back into my shoulder

Hypernyms (to "kick" is one way to...):

bounce; bound; rebound; recoil; resile; reverberate; ricochet; spring; take a hop (spring back; spring away from an impact)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

kick (the backward jerk of a gun when it is fired)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Stop consuming

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

give up; kick

Context example:

give up alcohol

Hypernyms (to "kick" is one way to...):

dispense with; forego; foreswear; forgo; relinquish; waive (do without or cease to hold or adhere to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s VERB-ing

Sense 7

Meaning:

Make a goal

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Context example:

He kicked the extra point after touchdown

Hypernyms (to "kick" is one way to...):

hit; rack up; score; tally (gain points in a game)

Domain category:

football; football game (any of various games played with a ball (round or oval) in which two teams try to kick or carry or propel the ball into each other's goal)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "kick"):

place-kick (score (a goal) by making a place kick)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 8

Meaning:

Express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

complain; kick; kvetch; plain; quetch; sound off

Context example:

She has a lot to kick about

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "kick"):

repine (express discontent)

bleat (talk whiningly)

report (complain about; make a charge against)

bemoan; bewail; deplore; lament (regret strongly)

inveigh; rail (complain bitterly)

beef; bellyache; bitch; crab; gripe; grouse; holler; squawk (complain)

protest (utter words of protest)

grouch; grumble; scold (show one's unhappiness or critical attitude)

croak; gnarl; grumble; murmur; mutter (make complaining remarks or noises under one's breath)

grizzle; whine; yammer; yawp (complain whiningly)

backbite; bitch (say mean things)

hen-peck; nag; peck (bother persistently with trivial complaints)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

kick (informal terms for objecting)

 Context examples 

An’ ’ere I am now. Look at me! Look at me! My ribs kicked loose from my back again.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I deserve to be kicked from here to Charing Cross.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"What'd I want to kick 'm for? You said yourself that he'd done right. Then I had no right to kick 'm."

(White Fang, by Jack London)

“And seem’ it’s government money, you ain’t got no kick coming, eh, Perrault?”

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

“Not wretch enough yet!” said the sparrow, as she alighted upon the head of one of the horses, and pecked at him till he reared up and kicked.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

With a kick and a blow he freed himself from two others who clung to him, and in a moment he was within the portal with his comrades.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He may be slow on his pins, but he fights with his head, and he hits like the kick of a horse.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Does the patient slam doors, kick furniture, throw things?

(NPI - Slam doors, Kick Furniture, Throw Things, NCI Thesaurus)

The Airspace Operations Command in Brasília has kicked off operations of the Geostationary Satellite for Defense and Strategic Communications (SGDC).

(First Brazilian satellite starts operations, Agência Brasil)

That indicates ejected material flung outward in one direction, while the compact core of the supernova, called a neutron star, seems to have kicked off in the opposite direction.

(Star Explosion is Lopsided, NASA)