kick the bucket

kick  (kk)

v. kicked, kick·ing, kicks

v.intr.

1. To strike out with the foot or feet.

2. Sports

a. To score or gain ground by kicking a ball.

b. To punt in football.

c. To propel the body in swimming by moving the legs, as with a flutter kick or frog kick.

3. To recoil: The powerful rifle kicked upon being fired.

4. Informal

a. To express negative feelings vigorously; complain.

b. To oppose by argument; protest.

v.tr.

1. To strike with the foot.

2. To propel by striking with the foot.

3. To spring back against suddenly: The rifle kicked my shoulder when I fired it.

4. Sports To score (a goal or point) by kicking a ball.

n.

1.

a. A vigorous blow with the foot.

b. Sports The motion of the legs that propels the body in swimming.

2. A jolting recoil: a rifle with a heavy kick.

3. Slang A complaint; a protest.

4. Slang Power; force: a car engine with a lot of kick.

5. Slang

a. A feeling of pleasurable stimulation: got a kick out of the show.

b. kicks Fun: went bowling just for kicks.

6. Slang Temporary, often obsessive interest: I'm on a science fiction kick.

7. Slang A sudden, striking surprise; a twist.

8. Sports

a. The act or an instance of kicking a ball.

b. A kicked ball.

c. The distance spanned by a kicked ball.

Phrasal Verbs:

kick about

To move from place to place.

kick around Informal

1. To treat badly; abuse.

2. To move from place to place: "spent the next three years in Italy, kicking around the country on a motor scooter" Charles E. Claffey.

3. To give thought or consideration to; ponder or discuss.

kick back

1. To recoil unexpectedly and violently.

2. Informal To take it easy; relax: kicked back at home and watched TV.

3. Slang To return (stolen items).

4. Slang To pay a kickback.

kick in

1. Informal To contribute (one's share): kicked in a few dollars for the office party.

2. Informal To become operative or take effect: "His pituitary kicked in, and his growth was suddenly vertical" Kenneth Browser.

3. Slang To die.

kick off

1. Sports To begin or resume play with a kickoff.

2. Informal To begin; start: kicked off the promotional tour with a press conference.

3. Slang To die.

kick out Slang

To throw out; dismiss.

kick over

To begin to fire: The engine finally kicked over.

kick up Informal

1. To increase in amount or force; intensify: A sandstorm kicked up while we drove through the desert.

2. To stir up (trouble): kicked up a row.

3. To show signs of disorder: His ulcer has kicked up again.

Idioms:

kick ass/butt Vulgar Slang

To take forceful or harsh measures to achieve an objective.

kick the bucket Slang

To die.

kick the habit Slang

To free oneself of an addiction, as to narcotics or cigarettes.

kick up (one's) heels Informal

To cast off one's inhibitions and have a good time.

kick upstairs Slang

To promote to a higher yet less desirable position.

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[Middle English kiken, perhaps of Scandinavian origin.]

Thesaurus

Verb

1.

kick the bucket - pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life; "She died from cancer"; "The children perished in the fire"; "The patient went peacefully"; "The old guy kicked the bucket at the age of 102" croak, decease, die, drop dead, buy the farm, cash in one's chips, give-up the ghost, pass away, perish, snuff it, pop off, expire, conk, exit, choke, go, pass abort - cease development, die, and be aborted; "an aborting fetus" change state, turn - undergo a transformation or a change of position or action; "We turned from Socialism to Capitalism"; "The people turned against the President when he stole the election" asphyxiate, stifle, suffocate - be asphyxiated; die from lack of oxygen; "The child suffocated under the pillow" buy it, pip out - be killed or die; drown - die from being submerged in water, getting water into the lungs, and asphyxiating; "The child drowned in the lake" predecease - die before; die earlier than; "She predeceased her husband" conk out, go bad, break down, die, fail, give out, give way, break, go - stop operating or functioning; "The engine finally went"; "The car died on the road"; "The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town"; "The coffee maker broke"; "The engine failed on the way to town"; "her eyesight went after the accident" starve, famish - die of food deprivation; "The political prisoners starved to death"; "Many famished in the countryside during the drought" die - suffer or face the pain of death; "Martyrs may die every day for their faith" fall - die, as in battle or in a hunt; "Many soldiers fell at Verdun"; "Several deer have fallen to the same gun"; "The shooting victim fell dead" succumb, yield - be fatally overwhelmed