kickback

American  

[kik-bak] / ˈkɪkˌbæk /

noun

• kickbacks
  plural

1. a percentage of income given to a person in a position of power or influence as payment for having made the income possible: usually considered improper or unethical.

2. a rebate, usually given secretively by a seller to a buyer or to one who influenced the buyer.

3. the practice of an employer or a person in a supervisory position of taking back a portion of the wages due workers.

4. a response, usually vigorous.

5. a sudden, uncontrolled movement of a machine, tool, or other device, as on starting or in striking an obstruction.

   A kickback from a chain saw can be dangerous.

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kickback British  

/ ˈkɪkˌbæk /

noun

1. a strong reaction

2. part of an income paid to a person having influence over the size or payment of the income, esp by some illegal arrangement

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verb

1. (intr) to have a strong reaction

2. (intr) (esp of a gun) to recoil

3. to pay a kickback to (someone)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antikickback
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• kickbacks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of kickback

1930–35, noun use of verb phrase kick back

Explanation

A kickback is a bribe or payment that's given to someone as a reward for their help with something. If your cousin says she'll give you a pack of M&Ms if you help her steal candy from a neighborhood store, that's a kickback. Illegal kickbacks are used to entice people into colluding in some criminal activity. It's a particular type of bribe in which the person receiving the money (or candy) and the person giving it are both participating knowingly in something illegal. This "illegal payment" definition arose from colloquial English, from that idea that the receiver of illegal profit "kicks" part of it "back" to someone who helped them obtain it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kickback kickbacks

If our 2024 event was more of an intimate kickback, 2025 was an all-out party.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026

During his time as a Rio legislator he was accused of involvement in a kickback scheme in which he took a portion of his aides' salaries, but the case was dismissed.

From Barron's ● Mar. 11, 2026

An hour later, one of its lead detectives introduced the first minutes of audio recordings with code names for main players in the alleged kickback scheme.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025

For instance, the ACB accused Mutharika of receiving a kickback from a contract to supply food to the police - he denied any wrongdoing.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2025

He shows me how to hold it, how I need to keep my arms strong for the kickback, then he turns on the air compressor and gets in position to hold the wire.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

He has them doing hip thrusts, banded side lunges, goblet curtsy squats and cable kickbacks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026

An Amazon MGM Studios executive allegedly solicited kickbacks from an aspiring vendor in exchange for post-production contract awards on shows, according to a recently filed lawsuit.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026

A federal judge on Tuesday delayed until next week the sentencing of Purdue on three felony charges related to paying kickbacks to doctors and reckless sales of its opioids.

From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026

Abalos and his former adviser Koldo Garcia are suspected of having pocketed kickbacks for handing out public contracts worth millions of euros for sanitary equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic.

From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026

Or guardians would direct all of their wards’ business to certain stores and banks in return for kickbacks.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Related Words

• gift
• graft
• payment
• payoff