kick in
verb
kicked in; kicking in; kicks in
1
: to begin operating or having an effect : get started
waiting for the heater to kick in
2
: to make a contribution
3
slang
: die
Examples of kick in in a Sentence
if everyone in the department kicks in, we can give him an especially nice present for his retirement
the ornery cuss finally kicked in at the ripe old age of 90
Recent Examples on the Web
Some injuries stemmed from fights between detainees, including a man who said he had been kicked in the ear and battered in his ribs.
—
ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
Frustration started to kick in a little bit as the first 44 shots Canton produced were turned aside, many of which were from point-blank range without a defender in the way.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
Garland simply wasn’t going to be a fit with the Canucks’ timeline, and moving him for a couple of picks before his NMC kicks in on July 1 is good business.
—Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
The food chain is in full and pitiless effect, and no one bats an eye, or side-eyes a bat, when natural predatory impulses kick in.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kick in
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ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
Frustration started to kick in a little bit as the first 44 shots Canton produced were turned aside, many of which were from point-blank range without a defender in the way.
—Tom Mulherin, Boston Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
Garland simply wasn’t going to be a fit with the Canucks’ timeline, and moving him for a couple of picks before his NMC kicks in on July 1 is good business.
—Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
The food chain is in full and pitiless effect, and no one bats an eye, or side-eyes a bat, when natural predatory impulses kick in.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kick in
Cite this Entry
“Kick in.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kick%20in. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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