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kick

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

kik
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈkɪk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg.

  2. intransitive

    To make a sharp jerking movement of the leg, as to strike something.

  3. Make a goal

    “He kicked the extra point after touchdown.”

  4. transitive

    To direct to a particular place by a blow with the foot or leg.

  5. of a firearm

    To recoil; to push by recoiling.

  6. To move or push suddenly and violently.

noun

  1. A hit or strike with the leg, foot or knee.

  2. The action of swinging a foot or leg.

  3. figuratively

    Any bucking motion of an object that lacks legs or feet.

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

    “A sidecar is a smooth drink but it has a powerful kick.”

  5. A stimulation provided by an intoxicating substance.

  6. The recoil of a gun.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg.

Used this way, kick is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use kick

  • “He kicked the extra point after touchdown.”verb
  • “The gun kicked back into my shoulder.”verb
  • “A sidecar is a smooth drink but it has a powerful kick.”noun

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

kick backpenalty kickside kick

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • kickingnounInflected form

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

  • kickernounInflected form

    A player who kicks the football.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • kick in the buttnounCompound term

    Punishment inflicted by kicking the victim in the behind.

  • kick offverbCompound term

    Commence officially.

  • kick one's heelsverbCompound term

    Wait or pass the time aimlessly or futilely.

  • kick outverbCompound term

    Force to leave or move out.

  • kick pleatnounCompound term

    Pleat in back of a straight skirt to allow ease in walking.

  • kick-startverbCompound term

    Start (a motorcycle) by means of a kick starter.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • kickoffnounRelated term

    A kick from the center of the field to start a football game or to resume it after a score.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.