kick to the curb

idiomatic phrase

informal

: to rid oneself of (someone or something) in a summary way

He just got kicked to the curb from a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

—Jared Mueller

Well, a year done and another starting. Time to purge the negative and kick it to the curb.

—Dale Merrill

especially : to end a romantic relationship with (someone) in an abrupt and often callous way

The Smiths were also going through a rough patch and had separated. "I was done with you," Will said. "You kicked me to the curb," Jada replied.

—Laura Zornosa

Examples of kick to the curb in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But 31,000 of us were still kicked to the curb. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 20 Feb. 2026

Becket grew up poor, in downscale Belleville, NJ (his mother was kicked to the curb after getting pregnant out of wedlock). —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 18 Feb. 2026

So your instrument needs to be tuned to the sensitivity to be able to play different people and, at the same time, get trashed around a lot and thrown and kicked to the curb. —Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026

Now, after being kicked to the curb in the Big Apple and reviving his career in Indy, he’s poised to be the face of the Colts. —James Boyd, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1984, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for kick to the curb

• blurb
• erb
• herb
• kerb
• serb
• verb
• disturb
• perturb
• reverb
• superb