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.
The fair’s former director of marketing pleaded no contest in June to taking $40,000 in kickbacks to award a security contract at the fair.
From Los Angeles Times
“Several larger families left Smart Therapy after being offered larger kickbacks by other autism centers.”
She employed relatives with no formal education and recruited parents to enroll their non-autistic kids in her therapy sessions by paying them kickbacks of up to $1,500 a month per child.
The investigation alleged that Ukrainian officials pressured companies to pay kickbacks for contracts with the state nuclear-energy company.
Participants allegedly capitalized on a martial-law ban on lawsuits against important state entities by demanding kickbacks before contractors received payment for their work.
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.
