kick back
Idioms-
Recoil unexpectedly and violently, as in This rifle kicks back a lot when you fire it . [Early 1800s]
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Return stolen property to the owner, as in The pawnbroker kicked back the paintings to the gallery . [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s]
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Pay back a part of one's earnings, as in The workers were forced to kick back half their pay to the agent . [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One of her dogs is named Crüe, as in Mötley Crüe; she will name-drop the 2000s rock band Nickelback in one interview and country stalwart Ronnie Milsap in the next.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
One protester held a sign calling for Tom Cruise to save them; another accused Trump of loving Nickelback.
From Slate • Oct. 19, 2025
In perhaps the saddest post of the day, a user named Saga mocked up a fantasy poster for the event that featured a murderers’ row of has-beens like Papa Roach, Nickelback, Staind and, yep, Creed.
From Salon • Oct. 15, 2025
Nickelback Dom Tatum, a Utah State transfer, departed the team in September, as did wide receiver DT Sheffield, a junior college transfer.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 4, 2023
Diego howled—earning us glares from the preppy parents who probably presumed we were drunk—and the wave of bad music continued to assault our ears as Creed blurred into Nickelback.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
