kicker

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A player in a sport, especially football, whose main job is to kick the ball.

   Grammar: Countable: a kicker, the kicker, two kickers.

   Patterns

   • a kicker for a team
   • the team's kicker

   The kicker missed the extra point after the touchdown.

   They signed a new kicker for the next season.

   As the team's kicker, she practices field goals every day.

2. 2nouncountableinformal

   An unexpected and surprising detail or twist at the end of a story, joke, or situation.

   Grammar: Countable: the kicker is often used with 'the' to point to the final surprise.

   Patterns

   • the kicker is that ...
   • the kicker came when ...

   The kicker is that he forgot his own birthday.

   The movie's kicker left everyone in the theater shocked.

   She told a funny story, but the kicker was the last line.

Word forms

Common combinations

the kicker is that

The kicker is that they had already sold the house.

a field goal kicker

The field goal kicker made a 50-yard attempt.

the real kicker

The real kicker came when the lights went out.

a placekicker

The placekicker is responsible for kickoffs and field goals.

Synonyms and how they differ

twist

A twist is a surprising change in a story; a kicker is often the final, punchy surprise.

punchline

A punchline is the funny end of a joke; a kicker can be any surprising final detail, not always funny.

Word family

kick verb

To hit something with your foot.

kickoff noun

The start of a game or event.

Commonly confused: kicker or kicker?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “kicker”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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