kick in
Britishverb
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(intr) to start or become activated
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informal (tr) to contribute
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Contribute one's share, as in We'll kick in half if you take care of the rest . [ Colloquial ; c. 1900]
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Also, kick off . Die, as in No one knows when he'll kick in , or He finally kicked off yesterday . [ Slang ; first half of 1900s] Also see kick the bucket .
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Begin to operate, as in Finally the motor kicked in and we could get started . This usage was first recorded in 1908.
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.
Deepfakes and other AI-generated content must be labelled from Sunday, as the European Union's sweeping artificial intelligence transparency rules kick in.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
You have many sources of income during those pre-Social Security years, prior to when your required minimum distributions kick in when you hit your 70s.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
"And every time that happens, the star gets a little kick in the opposite direction. Like Newton said, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
There should be no concerns about the future of the independent football regulator, set up by Nandy and whose powers are just starting to kick in.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
But then the law of large numbers started to kick in, and the pace of doubling slowed.
From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman
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.
