kick
verb (used with object)
to strike with the foot or feet.
had been kicking
-
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.
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
You had been kicking around some element of “Atone” for 20 years.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2021
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
Broadway’s prepandemic theater season featured two plays by Black writers, and one of them had been kicking around since 1981.
From New York Times ● Sep. 16, 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
