kicker

American  

[kik-er] / ˈkɪk ər /

noun

• kickers
  plural

1. a person or thing that kicks.

2. Informal.

   1. a disadvantageous point or circumstance, usually concealed or unnoticed.

      The tickets are free, but the kicker is that you have to wait in line for hours to get them.

   2. a surprising change or turn of events.

      The kicker was that their friends knew it before they did.

3. something extra, as an additional cost or gain; an added expense or financial incentive.

4. Draw Poker. a card, usually an ace or face card, held with a pair or three of a kind in the hope of drawing a matching card.

5. (in concrete construction) a low plinth at the base of a column.

6. Slang. kickers, shoes, especially leisure shoes.

7. Nautical.

   1. a small, low-powered outboard motor.

   2. an auxiliary engine on a sailing vessel, river steamer, etc.

8. Slang. the alcoholic liquor in a mixed drink.

9. Also called eyebrow, highline, overline, teaser. Printing, Journalism. a short line of copy set in a distinctive type above a headline and intended to call attention to it.

10. Metallurgy. a charge of high-carbon iron that produces a vigorous boil when charged into an open-hearth furnace containing slag and molten metal of lower carbon content.

11. Also called kicker light. Photography. a light source coming from the back and side of a subject and producing a highlight.

---

kicker British  

/ ˈkɪkə /

noun

1. a person or thing that kicks

2. sport a player in a rugby or occasionally a soccer team whose task is to attempt to kick conversions, penalty goals, etc

3. slang a hidden and disadvantageous factor, such as a clause in a contract

4. informal any light outboard motor for propelling a boat

5. poker the highest unpaired card in a hand, used to decide the outcome of an otherwise tied round

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• kickers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of kicker

First recorded in 1565–75; kick + -er ¹

Explanation

A kicker is someone who kicks. It’s usually a football player, but even a donkey can be one. A kicker is also a surprise. You might know you have a test, but the kicker is that you have to take it blindfolded. Football games involve players running and throwing the ball, but occasionally they have the opportunity to kick the ball down the field or over the goalpost, and this is done by the kicker. In soccer — also called football in much of the world — every player on the team is a kicker. The noun kicker comes from the verb kick; one guess about the word's origins say it comes from the Old Norse kikna, "sink at the knees."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kicker kickers

Washington head coach Dan Quinn and QB Jayden Daniels know what to do in that scenario: Stop the clock in order to give the kicker the opportunity to win the game.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

With Temecula Valley off to a 6-0 start in high school football, the Golden Bears can thank senior kicker and punter Colin Elia for making major contributions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

The strengths of the squad are suited to this approach, with goalkeeper Senne Lammens a good long kicker of the ball.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Arizona kicker Michael Salgado-Medina, 20, recently paid $370,000 for a three-bedroom house about 4 miles from campus, property records show.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

The kicker threw his arms up into the air.

From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor

He made a game-winning field goal as a sophomore on varsity when the other kickers were unavailable.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Among kickers, Charles Szares of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame is five for five on field goals and 23 for 23 on PATs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

One kicker at a Power Four school who started his career as a walk-on said his outside coach gave him a sense of what kickers at other schools were making.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

The community of kickers is determined not to miss on college football’s new gold rush.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026

None of the karate kickers were on the sidewalk.

From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor