kick starter

noun

a starter, as of a motorcycle, that operates by a downward kick on a pedal.

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Also called kick start.

Origin of kick starter

First recorded in 1915–20

Words nearby kick starter

kick oneself, kick out, kick over the traces, kick plate, kick pleat, kick starter, kick the bucket, kick the habit, kick turn, kick up, kick up a fuss

Definition for kickstart (2 of 2)

kick-start

or kick·start

[ kik-stahrt ]

/ ˈkɪkˌstɑrt /

verb (used with object)

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

Origin of kick-start

First recorded in 1910–15

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for kickstart

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
He wants to kickstart a process that leads to monstrous cuts in domestic discretionary programs and in entitlements.
How Obama Should Respond to Ryan|Michael Tomasky|March 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST

My wife, Gena, and I give back in many ways, the chief of which is through our nonprofit children's foundation, KICKSTART KIDS.
Chuck Norris’s 10 Favorite Things About America|Chuck Norris|August 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for kickstart

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