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

The agency awarded companies contracts, and SpaceX’s award helped kick-start the development of Falcon 9. — Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti, The Conversation, 28 Oct. 2026

Skydance is launching an employee buyout program, with David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz kick-starting what is widely expected to be the first of many cost-saving efforts in a memo to staff Monday. — Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 26 Oct. 2026

Sandy Springs is trying again to kick-start the expansion of its walkable town center called City Springs after a prior deal fell apart. — Amy Wenk, AJC.com, 23 Oct. 2026

Lightbulb was also accompanied by a kilonova, a bright surge of radiation involving oodles of neutrons—the very kind that could kick-start the r-process and forge all those heavy elements. — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

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