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

The backstory: The idea has been kicking around Trumpworld for several months, as the transition considered structural changes at the White House to prioritize staffing for Trump's priorities. —Mike Allen, Axios, 26 Nov. 2024

But honestly, that title is the last word Trump should be kicking around in public these days. —Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 19 Oct. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1