• enPR: kĭk, IPA: /kɪk/, [kʰɪk]

From Middle English kyken, from Old Norse kikna and keikja (compare Old Norse keikr), from Proto-Germanic *kaikaz, of uncertain origin.

kick (kicks, present participle kicking; simple past and past participle kicked)

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.

   • 1905, Fielding H. Yost, chapter 6, in Football for Player and Spectator:

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

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.

   • [1877], Anna Sewell, “My Early Home”, in Black Beauty: […], London: Jarrold and Sons, […], →OCLC ↗, part I, page 10 ↗:

     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.

   • 1905, Fielding H. Yost, chapter 7, in Football for Player and Spectator:

     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. (with "off" or "out") To eject summarily.
   • 1976 February 3, Bill Gates, An Open Letter to Hobbyists:

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

5. (transitive, Internet) To forcibly remove a participant from an online activity.

   He was kicked from the IRC server for flooding.

6. (transitive, slang) 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. (of a firearm) To recoil; to push by recoiling.
9. (chess, transitive) To attack (a piece) in order to force it to move.
10. (intransitive, cycling) 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.
12. (printing, historical) To work a press by impact of the foot on a treadle.
13. (computing, transitive) To reset (a watchdog timer).
    • 1999, Michael Barr, Programming Embedded Systems in C and C++, page 98:

      In the meantime, it is possible for the embedded software to “kick” the watchdog timer, to reset its counter to the original large number.

    • 2012, Tarek Sobh, Khaled Elleithy, Emerging Trends in Computing, Informatics, Systems Sciences, and Engineering, page 763:

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

14. (reflexive, informal) To reproach oneself for making a mistake or missing an opportunity.

    He's still kicking himself for not investing three years ago.

    Synonyms: beat oneself up, live to regret

• French: donner un coup de pied à, botter
• German: treten, kicken
• Italian: calciare
• Portuguese: chutar
• Russian: пина́ть
• Spanish: dar una patada, dar un puntapié, patear

• German: schießen
• Portuguese: chutar
• Russian: пина́ть

• French: kicker
• German: herauswerfen
• Italian: kickare
• Portuguese: kickar

• French: s'en mordre les doigts
• German: sich in den Hintern beißen
• Russian: винить себя

kick (plural kicks)

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

   Synonyms: calcation

   A kick to the knee.

   • 1890, Jacob A[ugust] Riis, “A Raid on the Stale-beer Dives”, in How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner's Sons, →OCLC ↗, page 72 ↗:

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

   • 2011, Phil McNulty, Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England‎:

     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. The action of swinging a foot or leg.

   The ballerina did a high kick and a leap.

3. (colloquial) 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

   • 1957, Jack Kerouac, chapter 4, in On the Road, Viking Press, →OCLC ↗, part 2:

     «Ah, it’s all right, it’s just kicks. We only live once. We’re having a good time.»

4. (Internet) The removal of a person from an online activity.
5. (figuratively) 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.

6. (uncountable and countable) A pungent or spicy flavour; piquancy.
   • 2002, Ellen and Michael Albertson, Temptations, Fireside, ISBN 0743229800, page 124 :

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

7. A stimulation provided by an intoxicating substance.
8. (soccer) A pass played by kicking with the foot.
9. (soccer) The distance traveled by kicking the ball.

   a long kick up the field.

10. The recoil of a gun.
11. (informal) A pocket.
    • 1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, “Quit Foolin’ with That Comb”, in Really the Blues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child), page 44 ↗:

      Some nights I’d try my luck in the crap game and wind up with a grand or more in my kick.

12. An increase in speed in the final part of a running race.
13. (film, television) Synonym of kicker
14. (Britain, historical, dated, colloquial) Sixpence.
15. (colloquial) A shoe.

• French: coup de pied, botter
• Italian: calcio, piedata, colpo di piede
• Portuguese: chute, pontapé, coice (from a quadruped animal)
• Russian: пино́к
• Spanish: patada, puntapié, coz (of an animal)

Shortening of kick the bucket.

kick (kicks, present participle kicking; simple past and past participle kicked)

1. (intransitive) To die.

Shortening of kick ass

kick (kicks, present participle kicking; simple past and past participle kicked)

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

   That band really kicks.