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
That bill's kicked around on the House's calendar for a few weeks now.
—
Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 13 Apr. 2026
People were kicked around in the pit, pancaked at the front of the stage, and the crowd surfing had a 90% fail rate.
—Deborah Sengupta Stith, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026
The bestselling novelist specializes in women who have been kicked around by life.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026
One of the ideas that has been kicked around is putting the playoff event in larger cities and more historic venues.
—Bob Buttitta, Oc Register, 23 Feb. 2026
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
Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 13 Apr. 2026
People were kicked around in the pit, pancaked at the front of the stage, and the crowd surfing had a 90% fail rate.
—Deborah Sengupta Stith, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026
The bestselling novelist specializes in women who have been kicked around by life.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026
One of the ideas that has been kicked around is putting the playoff event in larger cities and more historic venues.
—Bob Buttitta, Oc Register, 23 Feb. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kicked around
Verb
-
Nearly every day this offseason, Turner contemplated his baseball mortality.—
Sam Blum,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
Imagine, for a moment, if former Vice President Kamala Harris had jumped into the governor’s race, as contemplated.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
Verb
-
Chris Sanon, the Orlando area’s leader in sacks a year ago, played well in his move to linebacker from edge rusher.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
17 May 2026
-
He’s only played in four major championships in his career.—
Brendan Quinn,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
James has never roamed the campus as a Buckeye star.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
Other dinosaurs that would've roamed the terrain include iguanodontians and ceratopsians, plant-eating dinosaurs, in addition to carcharodontosaurians and spinosaurids, big meat-eaters.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Roza — a woman testifying under her first name — was an aspiring model from Uzbekistan when Epstein abused her in 2009, after the plea deal and while he was supposed to be under house arrest.—
Claire Healy,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 May 2026
-
Cook was labeled a vexatious litigant in 2018 until the Idaho Supreme Court in 2021 reversed the case, finding that the court abused its discretion.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Yara considered following the stars, but knowing which way was north didn’t necessarily mean that north was the way to move.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 May 2026
-
The new map retained only one district that would have been considered competitive in the 2024 presidential election.—
Ashley Wu,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Wash the Floor the Right Way Porch floors collect fine dust that gets kicked back into the air every time someone walks across them.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Sacbee.com,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Wash the Floor the Right Way Porch floors collect fine dust that gets kicked back into the air if you only dry sweep.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Bum-seok listens impatiently to their second-hand accounts of tiger tracks being sighted in the mountains, leading them to assume the animal must have wandered all the way down from Siberia.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2026
-
The other day, an elephant wandered onto this very field.—
Diaa Hadid,
NPR,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Justin is being bullied at school, but doesn’t want to burden his father.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
15 May 2026
-
Amar, who is nine years old, has been hit and bullied at school; once, a classmate strangled him.—
Annie Hylton,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kicked around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kicked%20around. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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