Meaning & use
kick butt
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Meanings
verbintransitiveinformalAmerican
To do something very well or with great energy and success.
Grammar: No object; often used in the phrase 'kick butt at something'.
Patterns
- kick butt
- kick butt at something
She really kicked butt in the final exam and got the top score.
Our team kicked butt at the tournament last weekend.
If you study hard, you'll kick butt on the test.
verbtransitiveinformalAmerican
To defeat someone completely or punish them severely.
Grammar: Takes an object: kick butt on someone or something.
Patterns
- kick butt on someone
- kick someone's butt
The champion kicked butt on all his opponents.
The new policy is going to kick butt on tax cheats.
Word forms
| third person singular | kicks butt |
|---|---|
| past tense | kicked butt |
| past participle | kicked butt |
| -ing form | kicking butt |
Common combinations
- kick butt at something
- He kicks butt at chess.
- really kick butt
- You really kicked butt in that presentation.
- kick butt on someone
- The home team kicked butt on the visitors.
Synonyms and how they differ
- excel
- More formal and neutral; use it in academic or professional writing.
- trounce
- Means to defeat heavily, but is more formal and often used in sports reports.
Opposites
Word family
- kick-butt adjective
- Informal adjective meaning very impressive or aggressive, as in 'a kick-butt performance'.
Commonly confused: kick butt or kick back?
kick butt vs kick back
Means to relax, not to do well or defeat someone.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
The usual preposition after 'kick butt' when talking about doing well is 'at' (e.g., 'kick butt at something'). 'On' is used when talking about defeating someone, and 'in' or 'to' do not fit this pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “kick butt”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.