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kick

/kɪk/verb, noun

kick is spelled K-I-C-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 52 times per million words in written English, the 1,941st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, kick means “To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in kick?

Letters4: K-I-C-K
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing52 times per million words; the 1,941st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is kick?

Kick appears 52 times per million words in written English, the 1,941st most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce kick?

  • /kɪk/
  • [kʰɪk]

Kick has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-kick.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-kick.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with kick

Also written: bick.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of kick

  • kicks present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • kicking participle, present
  • kicked participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does kick mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To strike or hit with the foot or other extremity of the leg.

    Did you kick your brother?

  2. 2

    To make a sharp jerking movement of the leg, as to strike something.

    He enjoyed the simple pleasure of watching the kickline kick.

  3. 3

    To direct to a particular place by a blow with the foot or leg.

    Kick the ball into the goal.

  4. 4

    To eject summarily.

  5. 5

    To forcibly remove a participant from an online activity.

    She was kicked from the IRC server for flooding.

  6. 6

    slangTo overcome (a bothersome or difficult issue or obstacle); to free oneself of (a problem).

    I still smoke, but they keep telling me to kick the habit.

  7. 7

    To move or push suddenly and violently.

    He was kicked sideways by the force of the blast.

  8. 8

    To recoil; to push by recoiling.

  9. 9

    To die.

  10. 10

    slangTo be emphatically excellent.

    That band really kicks.

noun

  1. 1

    A hit or strike with the leg, foot or knee.

    A kick to the knee.

  2. 2

    The action of swinging a foot or leg.

    The ballerina did a high kick and a leap.

  3. 3

    A kicking motion used in a swim stroke.

  4. 4

    colloquialSomething that tickles the fancy; something fun or amusing; a pleasure; a thrill.

    I finally saw the show. What a kick!

  5. 5

    The removal of a person from an online activity.

  6. 6

    The act of restarting or resetting a watchdog timer.

  7. 7

    Any bucking motion of an object that lacks legs or feet.

    The car had a nasty kick the whole way.

  8. 8

    A pungent or spicy flavour; piquancy.

    Add a little cascabel pepper to ordinary tomato sauce to give it a kick.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Kick in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchdonner un coup de pied à, botter (strike with or raise the foot or leg), kicker (to remove a participant from an online activity), s'en mordre les doigts (reproach oneself), coup de pied (hit or strike with the leg or foot)
Germantreten, kicken (strike with or raise the foot or leg), herauswerfen (to remove a participant from an online activity), sich in den Hintern beißen (reproach oneself), schießen (direct to a particular place by a blow with the…)
Portuguesechutar (strike with or raise the foot or leg), kickar (to remove a participant from an online activity), chute, pontapé, coice (hit or strike with the leg or foot)
Spanishdar una patada, dar un puntapié, patear, cocear (strike with or raise the foot or leg), shotear, chutar (direct to a particular place by a blow with the…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does kick come from?

From Middle English kyken (“to strike out with the foot”), from Old Norse kikna (“to sink at the knees”) and keikja (“to bend backwards”) (compare Old Norse keikr (“bent backwards, the belly jutting forward”)), from Proto-Germanic *kaikaz (“bent backwards”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Germanic *kī-, *kij- (“to split, dodge, swerve sidewards”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeyH- (“to sprout, shoot”). Compare also Dutch kijken (“to look”), Middle Low German kīken (“to look, watch”). See keek.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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