kickup

1 of 2

noun

kick·​up ˈkik-ˌəp How to pronounce kickup (audio)
Synonyms of kickupnext
: 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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
And that Earth, about 50 million years after the Sun became a full-fledged star, actually collided with another large protoplanet, kicking up a cloud of debris that wound up creating our modern Earth-Moon system. Big Think, 17 Apr. 2026 Like a cartoon villain, though, Paula kicks up the edge of the carpet, which causes poor Miriam to make a dog’s dinner of afternoon tea. Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Apr. 2026 His dedication to McDonald’s kicked up on a Wednesday in 1972, when Gorske had earned enough shoe-shining money to buy his first car. Amanda Hancock, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026 Slot could have kicked up a fuss about that afterwards. Stuart James, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for kickup

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1793, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1756, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of kickup was in 1756

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Cite this Entry

“Kickup.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kickup. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.

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