kickup

1 of 2

noun

kick·​up ˈkik-ˌəp 

: a noisy quarrel : row

kick up

2 of 2

verb

kicked up; kicking up; kicks up

transitive verb

1

: to cause to rise upward

clouds of dust kicked up by passing cars

2

: to stir up : provoke

kick up a fuss

intransitive verb

: to give evidence of disorder

Synonyms of kickup

Noun

• altercation
• dispute
• quarrel
• controversy
• fight
• disagreement
• argument
• row
• misunderstanding
• battle royal
• brawl
• bicker

Examples of kickup in a Sentence

Noun

after their last kickup, they didn't speak to each other for a week

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Nevada State Police A fast-moving brush fire that kicked up on a hillside in Northern Nevada just outside Reno on Saturday has exploded to more than 10,000 acres, threatening hundreds of homes. — Jenna Harrison, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026

More than 40 years after Madonna lost her shoe and kicked up her skirt at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards, the Queen of Pop is still the Queen of the VMAs. — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026

Artificial intelligence is kicking up the pace of elder fraud, Madeline Mitchell reports. — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026

Anything baseball must always kick up a lot of interest around you and the film. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 17 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1793, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1756, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for kickup

• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup
• markup