1
as in contemplated
to give serious and careful thought to
the board spent the afternoon kicking around the feasibility of opening an overseas office
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in played
to spend time in aimless activity
I really can't do much but kick around at work until I get the rest of the submissions
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in hacked (around)
to spend time doing nothing
spent the afternoon kicking around, while his wife bought out the mall
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in roamed
to move about from place to place aimlessly
after spending a year in Europe kicking around, the backpacker was ready to return home
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in abused
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
children who were raised by an alcoholic father who regularly kicked them around
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kicked around
The club had kicked around the idea of Suárez and Nola sharing an outing, but it was made official on Monday night after a gut-wrenching Game 2 loss.
—
Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Other ideas kicked around over the years have been subsidized housing or even returning it to its history of entertainment, as a high-end theater and performing arts academy.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2025
The idea of an independent misconduct authority has been kicked around by the industry since the Noel Clarke scandal four years ago, but its existence has become more pressing amid a string of power abuse crises involving the likes of MasterChef presenter Wallace and ITV chef Gino D’Acampo.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025
Peralta leaders had kicked around the idea for years but avoided discussing it in concrete terms, with bureaucratic tangles often getting in the way.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 23 Aug. 2025
Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Other ideas kicked around over the years have been subsidized housing or even returning it to its history of entertainment, as a high-end theater and performing arts academy.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2025
The idea of an independent misconduct authority has been kicked around by the industry since the Noel Clarke scandal four years ago, but its existence has become more pressing amid a string of power abuse crises involving the likes of MasterChef presenter Wallace and ITV chef Gino D’Acampo.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2025
Peralta leaders had kicked around the idea for years but avoided discussing it in concrete terms, with bureaucratic tangles often getting in the way.
—Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 23 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kicked around
Verb
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To that point, the settlement attempts to correct an economic harm and cannot address possible harms that are contemplated by other areas of law.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
29 Oct. 2025
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The idea of even having to make a decision like the one being contemplated in Dynamite is so difficult that most presidents would prefer not think about it until absolutely necessary.—
Jake Kring-Schreifels,
Time,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Not in any explicit way—my father wasn’t the cranky, alcoholic ex-minor league baseball player who drove around Los Angeles with his pool cleaning equipment in the back of his Cadillac convertible played by Matthau.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Verma played a key role in setting the Proteas a challenging target after the final was delayed by two hours because of rain.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
And centerfielder Andy Pages, a defensive replacement who had just entered the game for Tommy Edman, roamed wildly into left center to grab a fly ball hit by Ernie Clement.—
Barry M. Bloom,
Sportico.com,
2 Nov. 2025
-
In the kitchen, the inspector counted 22 roach corpses, 15 of them on the floor around fryers where three survivors roamed.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Images of Iraqi detainees being stripped naked and abused, published by the media, shocked the world.—
Ben Wedeman,
CNN Money,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Many of us were abused by them.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Moore said that while any and all legal options will be considered, the group's main focus will be on advocacy for pretrial services and other programming that can keep people out of jail.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Those employees are considered essential and have continued working without pay.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Over a bite to eat, everybody kicked back and chatted it up a little.—
Jay Glennie,
Rolling Stone,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Gatlin paid an Atlanta audiovisual contractor $2 million, who then kicked back $1 million to her, according to court records.—
Michelle Marchante,
Miami Herald,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Even with several adults nearby, including Bethany and her cousin, Emmie quietly wandered back toward the pool.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
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On one of her first days at Mira Mesa High School, then-freshman Samantha Truong wandered into the gym, looking for a CIF girls tennis championship banner hanging on a wall.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
An unverified report circulated over the weekend that said Brown claimed Harbour bullied her on set.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
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The complaint alleges Kalumbula didn't protect the student when other students bullied him for having gay parents.—
Kelli Arseneau,
jsonline.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kicked around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kicked%20around. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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