had been kicking
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past perfect progressiveof kick.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
kickverb (used with object)to strike with the foot or feet.
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.
A waitress told Hannah the pigeon had been inside the pub but people had been kicking her, so the waitress had to shoo the pigeon out to protect it.
From BBC ● May 25, 2024
But there’s an intensity that colors all his anecdotes about “Vengeance,” whose central premise he had been kicking around for several years.
From New York Times ● Jul. 26, 2022
Anger had been kicking around the idea of retiring this year or next, but the opportunity to help the hugely promising Chidekh take the next step in his career coalesced the timing in his mind.
From Seattle Times ● May 17, 2022
In 1989, California Institute of Technology geologist Joe Kirschvink took a look at this and other evidence that had been kicking around for a few decades and minted a new hypothesis: snowball Earth.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 24, 2021
We had been kicking the idea of college around, Jesse and Eric and I, ever since they’d settled into their jobs.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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