1
as in to debate
to give serious and careful thought to
the board spent the afternoon kicking around the feasibility of opening an overseas office
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to play
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to kill time
to spend time doing nothing
spent the afternoon kicking around, while his wife bought out the mall
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4
as in to roam
to move about from place to place aimlessly
after spending a year in Europe kicking around, the backpacker was ready to return home
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5
as in to abuse
to inflict physical or emotional harm upon
children who were raised by an alcoholic father who regularly kicked them around
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kick around
By 2015, Rateliff had already been kicking around the Colorado music scene for years, playing in several un-Night Sweatsy bands (like the alt-rocking Born in the Flood) and making an unplugged solo record but still feeling directionless.
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David Browne, Rolling Stone, 7 May 2025
Donald Trump won’t have Justin Trudeau to kick around any more.
—Josh Fellman, Quartz, 9 Mar. 2025
Chicago’s name gets kicked around a lot by people who are politically invested in its decline.
—Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 10 May 2025
As for what’s coming next, the agent said he’s spoken with a number of food brands with character mascots, kicking around ideas with companies like M&Ms and Lucky Charms, to name just a couple.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for kick around
David Browne, Rolling Stone, 7 May 2025
Donald Trump won’t have Justin Trudeau to kick around any more.
—Josh Fellman, Quartz, 9 Mar. 2025
Chicago’s name gets kicked around a lot by people who are politically invested in its decline.
—Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 10 May 2025
As for what’s coming next, the agent said he’s spoken with a number of food brands with character mascots, kicking around ideas with companies like M&Ms and Lucky Charms, to name just a couple.
—Brian Welk, IndieWire, 16 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for kick around
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kick around
Verb
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However, whether this move will have a positive financial impact for the government has been debated by experts.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 June 2025
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While the concept of vibe coding remains ill-defined, and its merits are hotly debated within the enterprise software community, there is a broad consensus around the underlying goal of making AI agents easier to code and deploy.—
Maribel Lopez,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Verb
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Checking these crooked politicians who ain’t playing fair/ Shut up!—
Anna Chan,
Billboard,
20 June 2025
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A lot of times, young big guys don’t play quite hard enough.—
David Aldridge,
New York Times,
20 June 2025
Verb
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In the Basque region of Spain, Rosenthal roams through the culinary capital of San Sebastián, devouring pintxos, impressive seafood and Txakoli wine.—
Laura Manske,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
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Starting Wednesday, the driverless taxis will roam more than 120 square miles of Los Angeles County, stretching from Santa Monica to downtown and from West Hollywood to Inglewood.—
Caroline Petrow-Cohen,
Los Angeles Times,
17 June 2025
Verb
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In the procedural drama, Rodríguez brings to life a multi-layered and solemn character shaped by a traumatic childhood — abused within the foster care system, with no knowledge of his origins, and struggling with severe dyslexia.—
Veronica Villafañe,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2025
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Federal employees widely abused the Biden administration‘s telework policies, according to an inspector general report released by the Office of Personnel Management on Friday.—
Haisten Willis,
The Washington Examiner,
20 June 2025
Verb
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Being able to bring authentic mental health stories to life in a way that both resonates and entertains is an increasingly valuable skill, and one that can set you apart in today’s media landscape.—
Mena Mirhom,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2025
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Hairpin turns and stressful pit stops go a long way toward entertaining F1 fans and neophytes alike, though melodrama and a bloated run time put the brakes on what should be a film that zips.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
18 June 2025
Verb
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Those have come from two players: Adrian Morejon of the San Diego Padres, who throws an odd knuckleball-changeup hybrid about 1 percent of the time, and Jonah Bride of the Minnesota Twins, an infielder fooling around with the knuckler in blowouts.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
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As Molly and Guy start to fool around, things get hot and heavy, but Ernie has a job to do.—
Erin Qualey,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Then of course, there’s wandering through some of the region’s rich history.—
Tom Hyland,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025
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The place currently has 13 chickens that roam its grounds, provide her with fresh eggs and, now and then, wander into her kitchen to peck away at some cat food.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
11 June 2025
Verb
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In the case of the Alan Mann Racing 68 Edition, that meant taking apart and laser scanning every component of Ford’s 1968 championship winner—still looked after by Henry Mann—then creating a CAD model to reverse engineer an exact replica.—
Tim Pitt,
Robb Report,
28 May 2025
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Macias also owned an auto shop and has been taking apart and fixing appliances from a young age.—
Jessie Schiewe,
Los Angeles Times,
23 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kick around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kick%20around. Accessed 27 Jun. 2025.
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