kick around

verb

kicked around; kicking around; kicks around

intransitive verb

1

: to wander or pass time aimlessly

2

a

: to lie about mostly unnoticed or forgotten

b

: to undergo consideration usually intermittently over a period of time

ideas that have been kicking around for years

transitive verb

1

: to treat in an inconsiderate or high-handed fashion

2

: to consider, examine, or discuss from various angles

Synonyms

• chew over
• cogitate
• consider
• contemplate
• debate
• deliberate
• entertain
• eye
• meditate
• mull (over)
• perpend
• ponder
• pore (over)
• question
• revolve
• ruminate
• study
• think (about or over)
• turn
• weigh
• wrestle (with)

Examples of kick around in a Sentence

the board spent the afternoon kicking around the feasibility of opening an overseas office

I really can't do much but kick around at work until I get the rest of the submissions.

Recent Examples on the Web

Prescott is played by the ten-year-old Tom Sweet, a first-time actor who was spotted by casting agents while kicking around a soccer ball with his friends in London. —Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 13 Dec. 2024

The idea of a solid-state transformer has been kicking around in academia and industry for years. —IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2024

The inline-six — now enlarged to 2.8 liters — was still kicking around, but the first true S-Class also saw more widespread use of V-8s, which started at 3.5 liters and 197 hp but quickly grew to 4.5 liters and 222 ponies. —Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 8 Oct. 2024

Multiple options are being kicked around among Trump allies to tighten the interpretation, keenly aware that any action would likely be legally challenged and eventually land before the Supreme Court. —Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 22 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1