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
One of the things that have been kicked around is a one-time 5% tax on billionaires.
—
Nicole Nixon, Sacbee.com, 6 Jan. 2026
As the college football season winds down, Penn State is still operating with an interim head coach after the dismissal of James Franklin, and Roethlisberger kicked around the idea of Tomlin heading to Happy Valley to take over that program.
—Patrick Damp, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
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
Nicole Nixon, Sacbee.com, 6 Jan. 2026
As the college football season winds down, Penn State is still operating with an interim head coach after the dismissal of James Franklin, and Roethlisberger kicked around the idea of Tomlin heading to Happy Valley to take over that program.
—Patrick Damp, CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kicked around
Verb
-
Inside the private room of a Country Club Plaza steakhouse, top officials from the England national team contemplated their World Cup future.—
Sam McDowell
Updated February 13,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Ohtani will remain the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter, and Roberts has contemplated slotting Smith down to fifth to fit Tucker into the top third of the order.—
Katie Woo,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Every one of the NFL’s 32 teams has played a regular-season game outside the United States and is signed up to the league’s Global Markets Program.—
Tom Chitty,
CNBC,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Savolainen played a huge role in Finland’s historic run in the 2019 hockey women’s world championship, in which the country made it to the final against the United States who, along with Canada, had previously dominated the competition and its gold medal matches.—
Hannah Ryan,
CNN Money,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The findings, published in January in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, reveal that at least two subspecies of cheetah once roamed the Arabian Peninsula.—
Taylor Nicioli,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Skubal roamed the spring backfields in Nike spikes, practically attached to Verlander’s hip.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Her relationship with her daughter, Caroline Darian, has been especially tense, as Darian felt her mother wasn’t supportive enough of her concerns that she might have been abused by her father.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
18 Feb. 2026
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Dacoda Jones filed the lawsuit on Monday in Dallas County District Court, which alleges that Rice abused her numerous times from December of 2023 through July of 2025.—
Steven Rosenbaum,
CBS News,
18 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Making her first appearance at Europe’s preeminent security summit since being elected to Congress in 2018, Ocasio-Cortez participated in multiple panel discussions, in what was widely considered to be a strategic effort to increase her political profile.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
17 Feb. 2026
-
That designation means using or being exposed to the products may cause temporary or medically reversible health problems, and the risk of serious injury is considered low.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Although the regionalization had led to a deceleration in the growth of shipping costs throughout 2024 as the Everything Store aggressively embarked on its cost-cutting crusade, these expenses kicked back up into high gear throughout the 2025 fiscal year.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
6 Feb. 2026
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Even if Senate Republicans conceded to breaking up the funding package, the bills would be kicked back to the House of Representatives, which is on a weeklong recess.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Afterward, as the home stood unguarded, reporters, photographers and others wandered the property, walking to the front door and capturing video of blood drops along the porch.—
Hannah Fry,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Sun Ra’s intro wandered, appealingly arrhythmic.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
That defense straight up bullied him.—
Prince J. Grimes,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
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The young boy then has to navigate being 10 and being bullied, having crushes on girls, all while older siblings Yvette (Essence Atkins) and Marcus (Jason Weaver) cringe at the thought of him being at the same high school.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kicked around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kicked%20around. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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