kick-start

verb

ˈkik-ˌstärt 

kick-started; kick-starting; kick-starts

transitive verb

1

: to start (something, such as a motorcycle) by means of a kick-starter

2

: jump-start sense 2

kick start noun

Examples of kick-start in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That investigative series kick-started a financial reckoning that has continued in subsequent years. —Deena Sabry, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025

Graduates enter the workplace sooner, kick-starting their careers with solid wages and long-term job security, thereby bringing a faster return on their educational investment. —Stephen Tave, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025

The findings add pressure to the UN’s COP30 climate summit this month, where countries will debate how to kick-start and finance faster action to rein in global warming. —CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025

These add to an expansion of the catalogue kick-started in 2022, when the company dipped its toes into the eau de parfum arena. —Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 3 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for kick-start

• apart
• depart
• flowchart
• forepart
• impart
• pushcart
• rampart
• redstart
• restart
• subpart
• sweetheart
• upstart