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

While Goff’s impact on Frontierland is well documented — and Hahn notes, perhaps, an influence from Knott’s Berry Farm’s Ghost Town in these images — it’s also believed some of these designs were kicked around as a potential Main Street, U.S.A., concept. —Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2025

Once down there, I was getting stood on, kicked around. —Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 9 May 2025

Chicago’s name gets kicked around a lot, dragged by people politically invested in our failure or decline. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 8 May 2025

On April 21, The New York Times published an article about various incentives the White House is kicking around in hopes of reversing the country’s historically low birth rate. —Seyward Darby, Vogue, 3 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for kick around

• aboveground
• battleground
• belowground
• paperbound
• turnaround
• ultrasound
• underground
• wraparound
• abound
• aground
• astound
• background