KICK-START

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does kick-start mean? 

• KICK-START (verb)
  The verb KICK-START has 1 sense:

1. start (a motorcycle) by means of a kick starter

  Familiarity information: KICK-START used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KICK-START (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Start (a motorcycle) by means of a kick starter

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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

start; start up (get going or set in motion)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

kick start; kick starter (a starter (as on a motorcycle) that is activated with the foot and the weight of the body)

 Context examples 

The idea behind ‘acoustic enrichment’ is that this can help kick-start coral reef recovery.

(Loudspeakers used to attract fish back to dying coral reefs, SciDev.Net)

Their study proposes that stars which give off sufficient ultraviolet (UV) light could kick-start life on their orbiting planets in the same way it likely developed on Earth, where the UV light powers a series of chemical reactions that produce the building blocks of life.

(Scientists identify exoplanets where life could develop as it did on Earth, University of Cambridge)