kick out
Britishverb
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informal to eject or dismiss
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basketball (of a player who has dribbled towards the basket) to pass the ball to a player further away from the basket
noun
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basketball an instance of kicking out the ball
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(in Gaelic football) a free kick to restart play after a goal or after the ball has gone out of play
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Also, boot out . Throw out, dismiss, especially ignominiously. For example, George said they'd been kicked out of the country club , or The owner booted them out of the restaurant for being loud and disorderly . This idiom alludes to expelling someone with a kick in the pants . [Late 1600s]
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Supply, especially in a sorted fashion, as in The bureau kicked out the precise data for this month's production . [ Slang ; late 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.
Judge Drew Tipton, whom President Donald Trump nominated in 2020, granted the prosecutor and police’s motion to kick out the case based largely on the idea of qualified immunity.
From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026
It was filed by Kevin Clouse of Georgia, who was trapped in his Model 3 during a 2023 crash and was forced to kick out a window to escape.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 24, 2025
Children ages 8-12 are the right age to get a kick out of “Everything You Know About the Human Body Is Wrong!”
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
"I actually think he would get a kick out it," Louis says.
From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025
I’ve heered of Ol’ Abe kickin’ out that fine McClellan; it’s a pity he don’t kick out a passel of ’em out in the West.”
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
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.
