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.

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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

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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

For the first time I have found a kicker who says he’s normal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

And Jay Feely, a former Arizona Cardinals kicker, won the primary for an open swing seat with Trump’s backing.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

Here’s the kicker: He’s not a sports nut.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

"The kicker is within two or three days of giving birth, they fall pregnant again so while they're rearing the first litter, they're gestating the second," Henry says.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

Seanie was our team’s kicker, and he scored the conversion, so PM went up 7—3.

From "Winger" by Andrew Smith

He is like most kickers — a former soccer player.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Mitchell said the attacking players and kickers were all given one to take home for the holidays but he believes "coaching" was key to the success of teams using it.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

And you never know, it can also lead to kickers hitting the post or missing the goal entirely—a rare but welcome gift for goalkeepers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

Quality sounds intuitively appealing to any shopper, from car-lot tire kickers to produce-aisle melon sniffers.

From Barron's ● Dec. 26, 2025

I walked around the karate kickers and the gangstas and pushed open a heavy wooden door.

From "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor