kick-start

Or kick·start

[kik-stahrt]

verb (used with object)

1. to start by means of a kick starter.

   to kick-start a motorcycle.

kick-start

/ ˈkɪkˌstɑːt /

verb

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

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

noun

1. an action or event resulting in the reactivation of something

Other Word Forms

• kick-starter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of kick-start¹

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Whole Foods helped kick-start the modern natural foods movement when it made its debut in 1980.

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Lorca immediately kick-started his managerial career and he repaid them by winning promotion at the first time of asking.

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Amazon announced Tuesday that it was laying off thousands of workers, kick-starting a plan to cut up to 30,000 jobs.

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“I get a kick-start on my career,” said Smith, a sophomore at Greeneville High School in eastern Tennessee.

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If a deal can be made, it would kick-start a staged withdrawal of Israeli forces and pave the way for an end to the war.

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