kick-start

verb

kick-started; kick-starting; kick-starts

transitive verb

1
: to start (something, such as a motorcycle) by means of a kick-starter
2
kick start noun

Examples of kick-start in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The most common puberty blockers, gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs, inhibit the hormone that kick-starts puberty in both sexes. Alexa Lee, STAT, 7 Mar. 2024 Milk-feeding could kick-start the hatchling’s microbiome and immune system, as in humans. Sofia Quaglia, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Patterson picked up his fifth foul with just over seven minutes to play, kick-starting the Owls’ comeback. Hunter Bailey, Charlotte Observer, 7 Mar. 2024 Those funds provided a multimillion-dollar cushion to kick-start his Senate campaign. Laura J. Nelson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024 Thompson was the first performer on the radio broadcast that would become the beating heart of country music, and his first notes kick-started a legacy that still brings together a passionate community of artists and fans in Nashville. Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2024 For both human and robotic vehicles, the hope is that other organizations will pay for rides as well, kick-starting an economy at the moon. David W. Brown, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 Johnson’s move to keep an initiative kick-started by his predecessor Lori Lightfoot will help combat vacancy rates in the city’s central business district, which climbed to a record in the fourth quarter, according to real estate brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle. Shruti Date Singh, Fortune, 4 Mar. 2024 But when Buck reached cinemas in the spring of 1972, audiences struggled to connect with it, in part because of a revolution in Black cinema that Melvin had already helped to kick-start. Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kick-start.' 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

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of kick-start was in 1928

Dictionary Entries Near kick-start

Cite this Entry

“Kick-start.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kick-start. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on kick-start

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!