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

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 At the beach, Bear was kicking around a soccer ball with his dad. Susan Dominus, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024 Looks like the internet won’t have Che Diaz to kick around anymore. Kate Aurthur, Variety, 26 Feb. 2024 Newsom is going to get lonely without candidate Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, to kick around any more, via Tom Philp. Andrew Sheeler, Sacramento Bee, 24 Jan. 2024 This two-second interaction is still kicking around in my head 20 years later. David Marchese Photograph By Mamadi Doumbouya, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024 He’s been kicking around for so long, and one of his superpowers is his magnetic covers of other people’s songs and how his elastic vocals seem to enhance every track. Katie Atkinson, Billboard, 30 Jan. 2024 And now there are just some uncomfortable questions to kick around about who’s to blame and where this goes next season. Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 14 Jan. 2024 Enlarge / Unity developers won't have John Riccitiello to kick around anymore. Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 10 Oct. 2023 The project has been kicking around in the director’s head for decades, which might explain how so much Star Wars mythology got tangled up in it, not to mention Dune, Avatar and even a dollop of Game of Thrones. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kick around.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of kick around was in 1839

Dictionary Entries Near kick around

Cite this Entry

“Kick around.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kick%20around. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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