1
as in complains
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely
he's been kicking all week about not getting the promotion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in objects
to present an opposing opinion or argument
fiscal conservatives have already started to kick about the proposed program, claiming it will increase the state's deficit substantially
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in thrills
a pleasurably intense stimulation of the feelings
I get a kick out of downhill skiing
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in joys
a source of great satisfaction
it was a kick for the parents to see their once-shy son star in a Broadway play
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in objections
a feeling or declaration of disapproval or dissent
nowadays there seem to be few words in the dictionary that do not raise a kick from one person or another
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in collisions
a forceful coming together of two things
I felt a kick in my hands as the jackhammer came roaring to life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kicks
Alex Ritman, Variety, 7 Oct. 2025
Everyone on the base calmly kicks into gear.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 6 Oct. 2025
The starting configuration kicks down the CPU and memory but maintains 1TB of storage, opting for a Ryzen Z2 with 16GB of RAM for $1,099.
—Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 2 Oct. 2025
This is the kind of guy who kicks down a door and busts somebody’s kidney with a crowbar.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2025
Jimmy Kimmel Live then cut to a clip of the moment, in which Colbert gets handed a phone, reads what is on its screen, and silently kicks his feet up onto his table in surprise.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
Amazon kicks things off on Tuesday with its fall hardware launch event, where new Echo speakers, presumably running the new Alexa Plus, are expected.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
Welcome to the week where September ends and October begins; where Q4 kicks off and the collective lock-in begins.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 29 Sep. 2025
House of Guinness has been compelling from the start but kicks into a higher gear with this episode.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Nate Atkins, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Arrington has become an impact player this fall, starting at receiver on offense and cornerback on defense while also returning kicks.
—Steve Brand, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Oct. 2025
Henderson returned two kicks for an average of 22 yards.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 6 Oct. 2025
Special teams coordinator Tracy Smith pointed out that Dallas can both return and cover kicks, which is fairly unusual in the NFL but not unheard of.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 2 Oct. 2025
At the center of it all was 21-year-old goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov, who saved three spot-kicks to propel his club into Europe’s elite field.
—Nina Subkhanberdina, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
Twenty-seven years later, in a small town where the local kids get their kicks with a game of ‘Playing Gracie Darling,’ another girl disappears.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2025
Channeling throwback styles and vintage silhouettes, these kicks bring a dose of nostalgia while being comfortable and practical, ensuring your feet stay supported regardless of your travel itinerary.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 28 Sep. 2025
Dirty kicks are essentially high-arching knuckleballs that can land in the middle of the field and take an unpredictable bounce or fly at an angle, depending on how the kicker makes contact.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
Many of the key titles will likely be getting a sizeable push from studios and streamers hoping to impress the British capital’s growing number of resident AMPAS, BAFTA and Golden Globe voters as awards season kicks into gear.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 7 Oct. 2025
Everyone on the base calmly kicks into gear.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 6 Oct. 2025
The starting configuration kicks down the CPU and memory but maintains 1TB of storage, opting for a Ryzen Z2 with 16GB of RAM for $1,099.
—Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 2 Oct. 2025
This is the kind of guy who kicks down a door and busts somebody’s kidney with a crowbar.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 1 Oct. 2025
Jimmy Kimmel Live then cut to a clip of the moment, in which Colbert gets handed a phone, reads what is on its screen, and silently kicks his feet up onto his table in surprise.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
Amazon kicks things off on Tuesday with its fall hardware launch event, where new Echo speakers, presumably running the new Alexa Plus, are expected.
—Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 29 Sep. 2025
Welcome to the week where September ends and October begins; where Q4 kicks off and the collective lock-in begins.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 29 Sep. 2025
House of Guinness has been compelling from the start but kicks into a higher gear with this episode.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Noun
But after three more of Karty’s kicks were blocked over the next three weeks and all of them played a role in Rams losses, the panic button has felt a fist as fierce as the ones that kept those kicks from sniffing the uprights.
—Nate Atkins, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Arrington has become an impact player this fall, starting at receiver on offense and cornerback on defense while also returning kicks.
—Steve Brand, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Oct. 2025
Henderson returned two kicks for an average of 22 yards.
—Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 6 Oct. 2025
Special teams coordinator Tracy Smith pointed out that Dallas can both return and cover kicks, which is fairly unusual in the NFL but not unheard of.
—Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 2 Oct. 2025
At the center of it all was 21-year-old goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov, who saved three spot-kicks to propel his club into Europe’s elite field.
—Nina Subkhanberdina, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2025
Twenty-seven years later, in a small town where the local kids get their kicks with a game of ‘Playing Gracie Darling,’ another girl disappears.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2025
Channeling throwback styles and vintage silhouettes, these kicks bring a dose of nostalgia while being comfortable and practical, ensuring your feet stay supported regardless of your travel itinerary.
—Chaise Sanders, Travel + Leisure, 28 Sep. 2025
Dirty kicks are essentially high-arching knuckleballs that can land in the middle of the field and take an unpredictable bounce or fly at an angle, depending on how the kicker makes contact.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kicks
Verb
-
Gimme Credit also complains that a run of acquisitions in both food and beverages have added $5 billion to PepsiCo’s debt in just the first half of 2025.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
8 Oct. 2025
-
The President reportedly watches hours of cable news every day, and frequently complains about coverage in real time.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The iPhone also has the ability to decipher what objects, people or pets are in photographs taken by users.—
Lora Kolodny,
CNBC,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Observing those colors can help scientists analyze objects’ composition and, in the case of galaxies, calculate their distance from Earth.—
Matt Alderton,
USA Today,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
For Halloween vibes, Busch Gardens transforms with Halloween Harvest fun and the thrills of Howl-O-Scream.—
Lauren Dana Ellman,
Travel + Leisure,
10 Oct. 2025
-
The first full week of October leans into spooky season hard, with the new season of Ryan Murphy's Monster and cool-looking thrills from all over the globe.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Since then, Fox and Pollan have shared joys — like welcoming their four now-adult children Sam, 36, twins Aquinnah and Schuyler, 30, and Esmé, 23 — and challenges, including Fox’s 1991 Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.—
Eric Andersson,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
-
Money is a remarkable tool, capable of offering independence and the joys that come from thousands of years of humans figuring out how to make life more comfortable, entertaining, and enlightening.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
But over these objections, the school administration, following district protocol, facilitated the sixth grader’s in-school gender transition behind their backs, Foote and Silvestri told the Supreme Court.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Oct. 2025
-
However, there have been widespread objections over these facilities’ potential resource depletion, particularly water.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Unlocking quantum gravity Gravitational waves, which are ripples in the fabric of space-time first predicted by Einstein, are typically detected at low frequencies by observatories like LIGO and Virgo, which listen for signals from events such as black hole collisions.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Starlinks also have brought up space debris concerns, both in that more satellites raise the risk of collisions and because their reentry could leave traces of metals in Earth’s atmosphere, potentially causing pollution and affecting climate.—
Elizabeth Howell,
Space.com,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Police said the officers encountered Billings prior to hearing screams at the park.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Oct. 2025
-
So why does the sight of her, bottle-blonde and clad in a green dress that screams vintage Dream Factory glitz, still give off such deflating Jenny-from-the-block vibes?—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The other character who protests Prodigy wiping Nibs’s memory is Arthur (David Rysdahl).—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Convention center protests Jewish Voice for Peace South Florida staged several high-profile, pro-Palestine protests in Miami Beach over the past two years, drawing scrutiny from Meiner and several commissioners.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kicks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kicks. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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