kick-start

or kick·start

[ kik-stahrt ]

/ ˈkɪkˌstɑrt /

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verb (used with object)

to start by means of a kick starter: to kick-start a motorcycle.

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Origin of kick-start

First recorded in 1910–15

Words nearby kick-start

kick plate, kick pleat, kickshaw, kicksorter, kickstand, kick-start, kick starter, kick the bucket, kick the habit, kick turn, kickup

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use kick-start in a sentence

And not just sick in the body but in your mind, because you start obsessing.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Between 25 and 30, you’re trying to decide how much longer before you start growing a beard and calling yourself ‘Daddy.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic|Samantha Allen|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Kickstarter is one start-up platform that seems to have realized the danger.
Design Your Own Dinosaur: The Era of Custom DNA|Justin Jones|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
When fathers hold and play with their children, oxytocin and prolactin kick in, priming them for bonding.
How Good Dads Can Change the World|Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

But maybe you have to start somewhere else — with Lamont Waltman Marvin, Monty, his father, the Chief, the old man.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The latter trod on the toes of the former, whereupon the former threatened to "kick out of the cabin" the latter.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
Keep closely covered with a bell glass and, in a few weeks, more or less, the baby Ferns will start to put in an appearance.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
The smoke from her kitchen fire rose white as she put in dry sumac to give it a start.
The Bondboy|George W. (George Washington) Ogden
There are sentimental children, as there are sentimental adults, who seem never happier than when the tears are ready to start.
Children's Ways|James Sully
But the day he planned to start was very cold—the mercury stood twenty-seven below zero.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux

British Dictionary definitions for kick-start

kick-start

/ (ˈkɪkˌstɑːt) /

verb (tr)

to start (a motorcycle engine) by means of a pedal that is kicked downwards

informal to make (something) active, functional, or productive again

noun

an action or event resulting in the reactivation of something

Derived forms of kick-start

kick-starter, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012