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.
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
The 50% tariff is scheduled to kick in as of Aug. 19 and would affect $20 billion of U.S.-bound Canadian exports.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
"But explosives don't fall into that category and that's where safeguards should kick in, and they haven't," Juelich told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
It starts to kick in after ten cards, and it’s really smart, because it picks up the problem with the red decks almost immediately.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
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.
