kick-start

or kick·start

[ kik-stahrt ]

/ ˈkɪkˌstɑrt /

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verb (used with object)

to start by means of a kick starter: to kick-start a motorcycle.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of kick-start

First recorded in 1910–15

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use kick-start in a sentence

Teen Mom star Farrah Abraham made a sex tape to kickstart her career.
So You Want to be a Porn Star? Inside the Sex Tape Phenomenon|Aurora Snow|July 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And so on May 1, we launched an experiment to see whether we could kickstart at least half.
Our New SuperPAC Is Going to Change American Politics for $12 Million|Lawrence Lessig, Mark McKinnon|June 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I order a Belle Époque with Hapsburg Absinthe to kickstart the evening.
The Secret Speakeasies of Buenos Aires|Jeff Campagna|February 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That alone would kickstart a long overdue national conversation about the costs and benefits of prohibition.
Ending the War on Pot is Obama’s Last Chance for a Legacy|Nick Gillespie|January 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The online crowdfunding petition—helpfully named “Help Kickstart World War III!”
How to Kickstart World War III in Syria: A YouTube Parody Primer|Miranda Green|September 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for kick-start

kick-start

/ (ˈkɪkˌstɑːt) /

verb (tr)

to start (a motorcycle engine) by means of a pedal that is kicked downwards

informal to make (something) active, functional, or productive again

noun

an action or event resulting in the reactivation of something

Derived forms of kick-start

kick-starter, noun

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