kicked around

verb

past tense of kick around
1
as in contemplated
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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2
as in played
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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3
as in hacked (around)
to spend time doing nothing spent the afternoon kicking around, while his wife bought out the mall

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4
as in roamed
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 abused
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of kicked around One of the things that have been kicked around is a one-time 5% tax on billionaires. — Nicole Nixon, Sacbee.com, 6 Jan. 2026 That bill's kicked around on the House's calendar for a few weeks now. — Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 13 Apr. 2026 One of the ideas that has been kicked around is putting the playoff event in larger cities and more historic venues. — Bob Buttitta, Oc Register, 23 Feb. 2026 People were kicked around in the pit, pancaked at the front of the stage, and the crowd surfing had a 90% fail rate. — Deborah Sengupta Stith, Austin American Statesman, 17 Mar. 2026 The bestselling novelist specializes in women who have been kicked around by life. — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2026 Fans draped themselves in Haitian flags and danced to upbeat compas music while children kicked around soccer balls at the small meet-and-greet. — CBS News, 30 May 2026 No balls were kicked around, but a first impression was made about a pitch that’s cropped tighter than a Pebble Beach fairway yet in impressive shape after four games over 11 days. — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 25 June 2026 Near a door leading to a loading dock, a group of players on the host Vegas Golden Knights — including forward Mitch Marner, who went on to score a regulation hat trick in a 5-4 win — stood in a circle and kicked around a soccer ball. — Peter Baugh, New York Times, 8 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kicked around
  1. contemplated
  2. played
  3. kicked back
  4. roamed
  5. abused
  6. considered
  7. fooled around
  8. chilled
Verb
  • The story includes messages referring to the incident sent by Racicot two years later, before Platner contemplated running for office.
    — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026
  • Emergency experts working day and night contemplated various entry and exit routes from the nearest accessible access point, about 75 feet away from where Gil was trapped.
    — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of contemplated
Verb
  • Kelce played a bully of a restaurant manager who fires a busboy (played by Bad Bunny).
    — Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 8 July 2026
  • She has been featured in various TV shows, including an English show called Upstairs, Downstairs (1971), and played Desdemona in Broadway’s Othello before retiring in the early 1980s, per the Walt Disney Archives.
    — Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 8 July 2026
Definition of played
Verb
  • My mom kicked back in comfort with a good book.
    — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 11 June 2026
  • Wash the Floor the Right Way Porch floors collect fine dust that gets kicked back into the air every time someone walks across them.
    — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Sacbee.com, 27 Apr. 2026
Definition of kicked back
Verb
  • The age of sail, when pirates like Johnny Depp’s fictional Jack Sparrow roamed the seven seas, ended about 200 years ago.
    — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 1 July 2026
  • Earlier this month, dozens of police officers, hunters and city officials were deployed in the city of Utsunomiya, north of Tokyo, to catch a bear that roamed the streets for four days, forcing mass school closures.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 30 June 2026
Definition of roamed
Verb
  • Some dogs fear brooms, vacuum cleaners or other household products, particularly if they’ve been hurt or abused in the past.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 2 July 2026
  • Lamar called out Drake for allegedly having a secret child, and Drake claimed that Kendrick abused his fiancée.
    — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026
Definition of abused
Verb
  • In fact, the idea of splitting atoms for propulsion and power was being seriously considered almost as soon as the first atomic explosions were made public.
    — David Szondy July 07, New Atlas, 8 July 2026
  • In 2023, California regulators levied more than $100,000 in fines against the private operator of a federal immigration facility, kicking off a three-year battle over whether detainees who do work at the facilities should be considered employees.
    — Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Definition of considered
Verb
  • Not too long ago, artificial intelligence was more or less a science project in which data scientists and developers fooled around with one-off small or test projects.
    — Joe McKendrick, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Definition of fooled around
Verb
  • Olive oil in particular may turn cloudy or partially solidify when chilled, but will return to normal after 15 to 20 minutes at room temperature.
    — Anne Wolf, Martha Stewart, 1 July 2026
  • Spain’s answer to smoldering summer heat is the traditional vegetable soup called gazpacho served delightfully chilled.
    — Catharine Kaufman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 July 2026
Definition of chilled

Browse Nearby Words

kicked (about)
kicked around
kicked back
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Cite this Entry

“Kicked around.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kicked%20around. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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