kickback

American  

[kik-bak] / ˈkɪkˌbæk /

noun

1. a percentage of income given to a person in a position of power or influence as payment for having made the income possible: usually considered improper or unethical.

2. a rebate, usually given secretively by a seller to a buyer or to one who influenced the buyer.

3. the practice of an employer or a person in a supervisory position of taking back a portion of the wages due workers.

4. a response, usually vigorous.

5. a sudden, uncontrolled movement of a machine, tool, or other device, as on starting or in striking an obstruction.

   A kickback from a chain saw can be dangerous.

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kickback British  

/ ˈkɪkˌbæk /

noun

1. a strong reaction

2. part of an income paid to a person having influence over the size or payment of the income, esp by some illegal arrangement

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verb

1. (intr) to have a strong reaction

2. (intr) (esp of a gun) to recoil

3. to pay a kickback to (someone)

Other Word Forms

• antikickback adjective

Etymology

Origin of kickback

1930–35, noun use of verb phrase kick back

Explanation

A kickback is a bribe or payment that's given to someone as a reward for their help with something. If your cousin says she'll give you a pack of M&Ms if you help her steal candy from a neighborhood store, that's a kickback. Illegal kickbacks are used to entice people into colluding in some criminal activity. It's a particular type of bribe in which the person receiving the money (or candy) and the person giving it are both participating knowingly in something illegal. This "illegal payment" definition arose from colloquial English, from that idea that the receiver of illegal profit "kicks" part of it "back" to someone who helped them obtain it.

Example Sentences

During his time as a Rio legislator he was accused of involvement in a kickback scheme in which he took a portion of his aides' salaries, but the case was dismissed.

From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026

Under a 1975 federal law called the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, steering consumers into certain mortgages in exchange for a fee or a kickback is illegal.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 27, 2026

The government also alleged the couple drew around $2 million in a kickback scheme related to a state supplier of personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic that Sun helped certify.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025

For instance, the ACB accused Mutharika of receiving a kickback from a contract to supply food to the police - he denied any wrongdoing.

From BBC • Sep. 15, 2025

He shows me how to hold it, how I need to keep my arms strong for the kickback, then he turns on the air compressor and gets in position to hold the wire.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Related Words

• gift
• graft
• payment
• payoff