kick

verb

1. (transitive)To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg.

   “Did you kick your brother?”

   “1895, George MacDonald, Lilith, Chapter XII: Friends and Foes, I was cuffed by the women and kicked by the men because I would not swallow it.”

   “A punt is made by letting the ball drop from the hands and kicking it just before it touches the ground.”

   “Will Henderson, who had on a light overcoat and no overshoes, kicked the heel of his left foot with the toe of the right.”

   “Or to put it in the more colourful language of our Prime Minister: "The secret to improving rail transport, in my view, is you need to find the right arse to kick." Unfortunately, since the abolition of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) in 2005, the DfT has ostensibly been in direct control of railway policy setting, and this has meant that the only arse the government has been able to kick is its own.”

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.”

   “Sometimes we had rather rough play, for they would frequently bite and kick as well as gallop.”

   “1904, Stratemeyer Syndicate, The Bobbsey Twins, Chapter II: Rope Jumping, and What Followed, "If you did that, I'd kick," answered Freddie, and began to kick real hard into the air.”

3. (transitive)To direct to a particular place by a blow with the foot or leg.

   “Kick the ball into the goal.”

   “Sometimes he can kick the ball forward along the ground until it is kicked in goal, where he can fall on it for a touchdown.”

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 right out of house and home."”

   “They are the ones who give hobbyists a bad name, and should be kicked out of any club meeting they show up at.”

   “Dial 1-900-Mix-a-Lot and kick them nasty thoughts.”

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.”

   “The back of the car kicked out violently, forcing me to steer into the slide and accelerate in order to maintain control.”

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.”

   “I asked my sister Jeanette if she wanted to shoot the 12 ga. shotgun. She replied, "does it kick"?”

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.”

    “From now on the process has to periodically kick the watchdog timer in intervals shorter than the initialization interval.”

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.”

16. (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.”

17. (intransitive, slang)To be emphatically excellent.

    “That band really kicks.”

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)A hit or strike with the leg, foot or knee.

   “A kick to the knee.”

   “A kick of his boot-heel sent the door flying into the room.”

   “Elsad Zverotic gave Montenegro hope with a goal with the last kick of the first half - and when Rooney was deservedly shown red by referee Wolfgang Stark, England were placed under pressure they could not survive.”

2. (countable, uncountable)The action of swinging a foot or leg.

   “The ballerina did a high kick and a leap.”

3. (colloquial, countable, uncountable)Something that tickles the fancy; something fun or amusing; a pleasure; a thrill.

   “I finally saw the show. What a kick!”

   “I think I sprained something on my latest exercise kick.”

   “get a kick out of”

   “get one's kicks”

   “Won't you get hip to this kindly tip / When you ride that California trip / Get your kicks on Route 66”

4. (Internet, countable, uncountable)The removal of a person from an online activity.
5. (countable, uncountable)The act of restarting or resetting a watchdog timer.
6. (countable, figuratively, uncountable)Any bucking motion of an object that lacks legs or feet.

   “The car had a nasty kick the whole way.”

   “The pool ball took a wild kick, up off the table.”

7. (countable, uncountable)A pungent or spicy flavour; piquancy.

   “Add a little cascabel pepper to ordinary tomato sauce to give it a kick.”

   “For extra kick, hollow out a lime, float it on top of the drink, and fill it with tequila.”

   “The first time I saw "Deep Water," the trace of mystery in the Crowhurst affair gave the movie a kick of excitement.”

   “Then again this is Mayfair. A big, rustling bowl of deep-fried squid with a salty chilli kick cost £7.50; a generous pile of jamon croquetas, the shells giving way to something creamy and intensely hammy within, was 50p less.”

8. (countable, uncountable)A stimulation provided by an intoxicating substance.
9. (countable, uncountable)A pass played by kicking with the foot.
10. (countable, uncountable)The distance traveled by kicking the ball.

    “a long kick up the field.”

11. (countable, uncountable)The recoil of a gun.
12. (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.”

    “Her mind couldn’t lose sight of […]the bloodied nickel plated pistol Angie had in his kick.”

    “Swell shows all of ‘em, except this last one. […] Set me back two-seventy-five, including tax, and I wish I’d got it in my kick right now.”

    “If you keep Nan’s advice you’ll keep it in your kick.”

    “You take that and put it in your kick. I’ve had plenty of cash out of you already.”

13. (countable, uncountable)An increase in speed in the final part of a running race.
14. (countable, uncountable)Synonym of kicker (“backlight positioned at an angle”).
15. (British, colloquial, countable, dated, historical, uncountable)Sixpence.

    “Two and a kick—two shillings and a kick.”

    “That's the stuff that will do the trick / Sold at every chemist for one and a kick”

16. (colloquial, countable, uncountable)A shoe.

    “All the other kids with the pumped up kicks / You better run, better run, outrun my gun”

17. (abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, countable, uncountable)Clipping of kickdrum; a 808.