kick around
Idioms-
Treat badly, abuse, as in I'm sick and tired of being kicked around by my supervisor . [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s]
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Also, kick about . Move from place to place, as in They spent three years kicking around the country on their bikes , or We've no address; we're just kicking about until we find somewhere to settle . [ Colloquial ; early 1800s]
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Also, kick about . Consider, think about or discuss; examine or try out. For example, Let's kick this scenario around for a while and see what we come up with , or We've been kicking about various schemes to make money . [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s]
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Be available or unused, as in This old computer has been kicking around for months—no one seems to want it . [c. 1900]
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.
“You don’t have Nixon to kick around anymore. Because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2024
Jamaal Lascelles goes into the book for bringing down Jeremy Doku and City have a free kick around 30 yards out.
From BBC • Mar. 15, 2024
Kidz Bop rang out on the stereo as groups of sweaty children beamed with joy at the chance to kick around soccer balls with major league professionals at the White House Monday.
From Washington Times • Jul. 18, 2023
Ten minutes later, James Maddison curled a free kick around the wall from 25 yards but Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez turned it away.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 23, 2022
I fed him so that I wouldn’t have to kick around a bag of bones, and now, ten years later, here he is.
From "Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard
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.
