kicker

[kik-er]

noun

a person or thing that kicks.

Informal.

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.
a surprising change or turn of events: The kicker was that their friends knew it before they did.

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

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.

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

kickers, Slang. shoes, especially leisure shoes.

Nautical.

a small, low-powered outboard motor.
an auxiliary engine on a sailing vessel, river steamer, etc.

Slang. the alcoholic liquor in a mixed drink.

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.

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.

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

Nearby words

Origin of kicker

First recorded in 1565–75; kick + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for kickers

The kickers will put it up to him, as they have put it up to every new man who has come out here.
The Taming of Red Butte Western|Francis Lynde
The office-door stood wide open and the kickers were welcomed, as you might say, with open arms.
The Wreckers|Francis Lynde
It is always good to look hard at a general, and the Kickers were transfixed with interest.
Last Words|Stephen Crane
On Friday there was a half-hour of signal work and some practice later for the kickers.
Center Rush Rowland|Ralph Henry Barbour

This convention, let me tell you, will name my ticket, and the kickers will be kicked out of the party.
The Lash|Olin L. Lyman

British Dictionary definitions for kickers

kicker

noun

a person or thing that kicks

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

US and Canadian slang a hidden and disadvantageous factor, such as a clause in a contract

informal any light outboard motor for propelling a boat

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for kickers

kicker

1570s, agent noun from kick (v.).

kicker

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of kicker

Examples from the Web for kickers

kicker

noun

kicker