Meaning & use
kick
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To hit or push someone or something with your foot.
Grammar: Takes an object: kick the ball. You can also say kick someone something: He kicked me the ball.
Patterns
- kick someone/something
- kick someone something
- kick something at someone
She kicked the ball into the goal.
He kicked the door open and stormed in.
Don't kick the table; you'll spill the drinks.
verbintransitive
To move your legs or feet in a forceful way, especially in sports or when swimming.
Grammar: No object; often used with adverbs: kick hard, kick out.
Patterns
- kick hard
- kick out
- kick at something
The baby was kicking and waving her arms.
He kicked out in panic when he felt the water.
She kicked at the loose stone on the path.
verbtransitiveinformal
To stop doing something harmful, especially a habit or addiction.
Grammar: Often used in the phrase 'kick the habit'; takes an object like habit, smoking, drugs.
Patterns
- kick the habit
- kick smoking
- kick drugs
After 20 years, he finally kicked the habit.
She's trying to kick smoking for good.
It's hard to kick an addiction without support.
nouncountable
A strong hit with the foot, or the act of kicking.
Grammar: Countable: a kick, two kicks. Often with 'a' or 'the'.
Patterns
- a kick
- give someone a kick
- a kick in the stomach
He gave the door a hard kick.
She felt a sharp kick in her side.
The footballer took a kick at the ball.
nounsingularinformal
A feeling of excitement or pleasure.
Grammar: Usually singular, often in the phrase 'get a kick out of something'.
Patterns
- get a kick out of something
- for kicks
- a kick
I get a kick out of watching old movies.
They stole the car just for kicks.
She gets a kick from riding fast bikes.
Word forms
| third person singular | kicks |
|---|---|
| past tense | kicked |
| past participle | kicked |
| -ing form | kicking |
| plural | kicks |
Common combinations
- kick a ball
- The children were kicking a ball around the park.
- kick the habit
- He finally kicked the habit after years of smoking.
- kick off
- The meeting will kick off at 9 a.m. sharp.
- get a kick out of
- She gets a kick out of surprising people.
- kick someone out
- They kicked him out of the club for bad behavior.
Synonyms and how they differ
- boot
- More informal and often means to kick someone out or to kick something hard; 'kick' is the general word.
- punt
- Used mainly in sports for a specific type of kick, especially in rugby or American football; 'kick' is broader.
- strike
- A more formal word for hitting, but it can use the hand or an object; 'kick' specifically uses the foot.
Word family
- kicker noun
- A person who kicks, especially in sports; also an unexpected part of a story.
- kicking noun
- The act of hitting with the foot; often used in the phrase 'kicking and screaming'.
Commonly confused: kick or pick?
kick vs pick
Pick means to choose or to take something up with your fingers; kick means to hit with your foot. They sound different: /pɪk/ vs /kɪk/.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
The verb 'kick' takes a direct object, and 'into the net' shows direction. Option 1 is correct. Option 2 uses 'at', which suggests trying to kick but not necessarily hitting. Option 3 is ungrammatical. Option 4 uses 'in' instead of 'into', which is less precise for movement to a destination.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “kick”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.