Meaning & use
dolphin kick
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A swimming move where both legs stay together and move up and down like a wave, mainly used in butterfly stroke.
Grammar: Countable; you can say 'a dolphin kick' or 'dolphin kicks'.
Patterns
- do a dolphin kick
- use the dolphin kick
- dolphin kick underwater
She practiced her dolphin kick for hours to improve her butterfly.
The coach told him to use a dolphin kick after the turn.
In competitive swimming, a dolphin kick is allowed underwater for a short distance.
Word forms
| plural | dolphin kicks |
|---|
Common combinations
- dolphin kick technique
- His dolphin kick technique is smooth and powerful.
- underwater dolphin kick
- She uses an underwater dolphin kick to gain speed.
- perform a dolphin kick
- The swimmer performed a dolphin kick off the wall.
- dolphin kick drill
- We did a dolphin kick drill with a kickboard.
Synonyms and how they differ
- butterfly kick
- Often used interchangeably, but 'butterfly kick' specifically refers to the kick used in butterfly stroke, while 'dolphin kick' can also be used underwater in other strokes.
Word family
Commonly confused: dolphin kick or flutter kick?
dolphin kick vs flutter kick
A flutter kick uses alternating up-and-down leg movements, while a dolphin kick uses both legs together in a wave-like motion.
Practice
Which stroke mainly uses the dolphin kick?
Choose one answer.
The dolphin kick is the primary kick for butterfly stroke. Freestyle and backstroke use a flutter kick, and breaststroke uses a whip kick.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dolphin kick”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.