How to Use kick in in a Sentence

kick in

verb
  • That’s where the guardrail kicks in.
    — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 30 Dec. 2025
  • But then the will to win, kicked in.
    — John Lauritsen, CBS News, 4 June 2026
  • This is the point at which state law kicks in.
    — Mercury News, 24 Oct. 2025
  • One kicked in the door on the south side of the home.
    — Briauna Brown, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026
  • This is where the copium kicks in.
    — Newsweek Editors, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
  • This is where the sticker shock kicks in.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 8 June 2026
  • Nothing, just a kick in the head.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 31 Dec. 2025
  • That's when the cool quotient kicks in.
    — Lexi Lane, PEOPLE, 18 May 2026
  • As the numbness wore off, the anger kicked in.
    — Lonnie Van Horn, Health, 17 Sep. 2025
  • In other words, a kick in the rear for the city.
    — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 8 May 2026
  • Dopamine will kick in, and the hair will stand up on the back of your neck.
    — John Archibald, Southern Living, 11 June 2026
  • It was found that both had tried to kick in the other’s door.
    — cleveland, 11 Mar. 2022
  • The fee will now kick in on Sunday.
    — Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Kind of had to give him a big brother kick in the butt about it.
    — Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 2 Dec. 2022
  • That’s where my patience, as well as my faith, had to kick in.
    — Bea L. Hines, Miami Herald, 22 May 2024
  • There are a lot of instincts, a lot of things that kick in and switch on.
    — Sophie Dodd, Peoplemag, 31 Jan. 2023
  • What a kick in the pants to everyone who served.
    — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 25 Apr. 2026
  • Daisy isn’t just the kick in the pants that Lydia needs.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 27 May 2026
  • After that, the main part of the mission kicks in.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Get ready for summertime to kick in full force.
    — Lauren Bostwick, CBS News, 6 June 2026
  • Because at some point, your conscience has to kick in.
    — ABC News, 21 Dec. 2025
  • Everybody gets their butt kicked in this game.
    — Dan Hayes, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2026
  • But the city is likely to have to kick in at least some portion.
    — Kaitlin Durbin, cleveland, 19 June 2022
  • Every genre needs a good kick in the head every once in a while.
    — Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Another cool thing about this is the way the staff kicked in too.
    — Ali Lerman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026
  • And then the fire really kicked in.
    — Jennifer Maas, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
  • But what if your morning Botox could kick in by your evening event?
    — Marci Robin, Allure, 2 May 2025
  • He was kicked in the head, and his shoulder and arm were injured.
    — Mike Schneider, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026
  • He was kicked in the head and his shoulder and arm were injured.
    — Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
  • The joys of postpubescence kick in, as well as an urge to party.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kick in.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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