1
as in contemplating
to give serious and careful thought to
the board spent the afternoon kicking around the feasibility of opening an overseas office
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in playing
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 hanging (around or out)
to spend time doing nothing
spent the afternoon kicking around, while his wife bought out the mall
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4
as in wandering
to move about from place to place aimlessly
after spending a year in Europe kicking around, the backpacker was ready to return home
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5
as in abusing
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
children who were raised by an alcoholic father who regularly kicked them around
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kicking around
None is more important than what’s been kicking around for at least six decades, a project to bolster California’s north-to-south shipments of water by bypassing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
—
Dan Walters, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2025
Dan Walters, Mercury News, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kicking around
Verb
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Investors contemplating Kohl’s must consider whether this represents a genuine turnaround or merely a fleeting bounce enhanced by meme-stock phenomena.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
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Yet, the fruit carries a broader meaning as well, as the Christ child also intimately interacts with it, grasping and contemplating it.—
Demir Alp,
JSTOR Daily,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Though his interests were that of a pretty typical child — computing and gaming, playing the saxophone, enjoying soccer and time with his pets — he was also known for his acts of kindness and generosity.—
Lauren Costantino
September 6,
Miami Herald,
6 Sep. 2025
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The Chiefs also were playing without rookie wide receiver Jalen Royals, who is recovering from an injury.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The 300-second exposure shows the wandering solar system body as a minute dot, barely distinguishable among the stellar giants populating the distant starfield beyond.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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Fuel up for a day of wandering with a coffee at Dripolator.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In his experiment, students who were randomly assigned to be guards began abusing the students who were prisoners after only five days.—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
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While walking the two men to a USBP vehicle, Wilkins, a bystander, began verbally abusing authorities, DHS said.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Also pondering shellfish, the German philosopher Carl du Prel insisted in 1885 that, in the wake of Darwin’s discoveries, people can no longer assume humans represent consciousness’s culmination in the Universe.—
Thomas Moynihan,
Big Think,
20 Aug. 2025
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There are some key wording aspects in this Section 7 that are worth pondering.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The herd roaming the Gila Wilderness, however, is expected to be hunted in 1970 and 1971.—
Tim Kelly,
Outdoor Life,
4 Sep. 2025
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Katie Wiseman Many Hoosiers were surprised last month to learn that armadillos can be spotted roaming around southern Indiana.—
Katie Wiseman,
IndyStar,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Louisville Metro Council is considering an ordinance to define and regulate new types of homeless shelters that council members hope will help expand shelter access during periods of extreme weather.—
Killian Baarlaer,
The Courier-Journal,
3 Sep. 2025
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In New York City, the city council is considering a bill that would end the city’s longstanding daylighting exemption.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Gisin hopes that by fooling around with measurements of these more exotic states, physicists will come to better understand the role of measurement in general.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kicking around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kicking%20around. Accessed 6 Sep. 2025.
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