kickback
Americannoun
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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.
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a rebate, usually given secretively by a seller to a buyer or to one who influenced the buyer.
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the practice of an employer or a person in a supervisory position of taking back a portion of the wages due workers.
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a response, usually vigorous.
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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.
noun
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a strong reaction
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part of an income paid to a person having influence over the size or payment of the income, esp by some illegal arrangement
verb
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(intr) to have a strong reaction
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(intr) (esp of a gun) to recoil
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to pay a kickback to (someone)
Other Word Forms
- antikickback adjective
Etymology
Origin of kickback
1930–35, noun use of verb phrase kick back
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.
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
Under a 1975 federal law called the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, steering consumers into certain mortgages in exchange for a fee or a kickback is illegal.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 27, 2026
The Energoatom scheme allegedly drove up electricity prices as contractors tried to cover kickback costs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 28, 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
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.
