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.
Asked if he can now kick back and enjoy Monday's draw, Davidson cracked a smile.
From BBC • Feb. 9, 2025
“I thought the adrenaline would kick back in and I’d be able to move,” Butler said after the game.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 18, 2024
People don’t kick back and divert themselves by binge-watching the all-too real.
From Salon • Feb. 19, 2024
“He would sit on Route 119 and kick back and watch the traffic go by,” she said.
From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2023
I dug a shoe in to accommodate for the kick back and bent at the knee, just like Miig had showed me.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
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.
