kick around

verb

kicked around; kicking around; kicks around

intransitive verb

1

: to wander or pass time aimlessly

2

a

: to lie about mostly unnoticed or forgotten

b

: to undergo consideration usually intermittently over a period of time

ideas that have been kicking around for years

transitive verb

1

: to treat in an inconsiderate or high-handed fashion

2

: to consider, examine, or discuss from various angles

Synonyms of kick around

• debate
• entertain
• contemplate
• consider
• ponder
• study
• question
• eye
• chew on
• think (about or over)
• explore
• look at
• weigh
• wrestle (with)
• mull (over)

Examples of kick around in a Sentence

the board spent the afternoon kicking around the feasibility of opening an overseas office

I really can't do much but kick around at work until I get the rest of the submissions.

Recent Examples on the Web

So Trump will still have Vance to kick around, whether either of them likes it or not. —Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2026

Odenkirk and Kolstad have begun kicking around ideas for extending the character into an ongoing franchise. —Los Angeles Times, 15 Apr. 2026

That bill's kicked around on the House's calendar for a few weeks now. —Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 13 Apr. 2026

Although the likes of the Go Go’s and the Cars are present at times, the soundtrack as a whole seems too staid to provide a backdrop for ’80s kids kicking around in the heyday of punk. —Gina Friedlande, HollywoodReporter, 7 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for kick around

• aboveground
• battleground
• belowground
• paperbound
• turnaround
• ultrasound
• underground
• wraparound
• abound
• aground
• astound
• background