kick-start
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to start (a motorcycle engine) by means of a pedal that is kicked downwards
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informal to make (something) active, functional, or productive again
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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kick-startsimple
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kick-startssimple
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have kick-startedperfect
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has kick-startedperfect
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am kick-startingprogressive
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are kick-startingprogressive
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is kick-startingprogressive
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have been kick-startingperfect progressive
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has been kick-startingperfect progressive
Past
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kick-startedsimple
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had kick-startedperfect
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was kick-startingprogressive
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were kick-startingprogressive
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had been kick-startingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of kick-start
First recorded in 1910–15
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Doing so may do more to kick-start their adult life than any attempt to kick them off the family phone plan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
The goal of the meeting was to discuss an easing of U.S. sanctions and kick-start higher-level dialogues about resetting U.S.-Eritrea ties.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
Investors have been snapping up space stocks lately in the hope that the Artemis II mission around the moon will kick-start a new era of space exploration.
From Barron's ● Apr. 16, 2026
The purchase helps Amazon kick-start its space strategy by leveraging Globalstar’s existing satellites.
From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026
“Come on, Mon, it’s only our Comrade Uncle—” Comrade Pillai tried to kick-start Shakespeare.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
“It really kick-starts fleet-scale nuclear development in the United States,” Sumner said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Despite Rousey hinting the fight may be the last of her storied career, Bidarian is hoping she kick-starts a new era for MMA.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
“Certainly when our offense is sputtering in any way, it’s a good defensive weapon for us, but also kick-starts our offense. We know that’s something that’s in our arsenal.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2025
Players occasionally receive tips via an in-game mail service, leading to a hyperlink or message board that kick-starts an investigation.
From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
He kick-starts the bike, revs the throttle, and then they’re ripping down the street, her red hair crackling like a wildfire behind them.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
Volcker succeeded in reducing inflation, Ronald Reagan’s tax cuts kick-started the economy, the stock market surged, and the personal computer, internet and smartphone changed everyone’s lives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
OpenAI, which kick-started the artificial-intelligence boom with the 2022 release of ChatGPT, is officially preparing to stage an initial public offering that will test investor appetite for AI companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
“It straight crushed me at the time,” he says of the diagnosis, “because basketball was my entire life. But that’s kind of what kick-started music for me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2026
The move kick-started his meteoric rise, propelling him from the fourth tier to the top flight in the space of a year.
From BBC ● Jan. 9, 2026
Three important revolutions shaped the course of history: the Cognitive Revolution kick-started history about 70,000 years ago.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
It was during the show’s “Snack Attack” segment when Oswalt dissed on food bowls, specifically calling out KFC for kick-starting such a heinous eating trend.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2026
The Treasury Department announced Wednesday External link that five million children are now signed up for Trump accounts, the new investment vehicles aimed at kick-starting savings for young people.
From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026
Amazon announced Tuesday that it was laying off thousands of workers, kick-starting a plan to cut up to 30,000 jobs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Ratcliffe says the project will depend on how 'quickly' the government are with kick-starting their regeneration project of the area.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2025
Barack looked out at the audience and into the TV cameras, and as if kick-starting some internal engine, he just smiled and began to roll.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
