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 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 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 That bill's kicked around on the House's calendar for a few weeks now. — Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 13 Apr. 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 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 One of the things that have been kicked around is a one-time 5% tax on billionaires. — Nicole Nixon, Sacbee.com, 6 Jan. 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. relaxed
Verb
  • Even in the midst of this global struggle, Roosevelt contemplated the future and envisioned the critical role that a new United Nations might play.
    — John T. Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The five trusts also contemplated that two-thirds of the children could vote to terminate a trust.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of contemplated
Verb
  • Upon the Lincoln’s arrival in the morning, service members could be seen working aboard the deck as loudspeakers played announcements about the process for disembarkation.
    — Mosheh Gains, NBC news, 2 Sep. 2026
  • For Jaissle, a defensive midfielder who had preferably played in the Premier League was essential.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of played
Verb
  • When something’s off (like a misplaced comma or wrong code), the claim gets kicked back, and either the patient or the doctor eats the cost.
    — Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 22 July 2026
  • My mom kicked back in comfort with a good book.
    — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 11 June 2026
Definition of kicked back
Verb
  • The singer roamed the space, which created an eternity out of glass, and captured the experience on camera.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Declan Rice and Saka played just over an hour each, Riccardo Calafiori roamed to his heart’s content, Tzolis was eager to make an impact.
    — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of roamed
Verb
  • Furious season 1 wrapped up the case as Alice arrested Catherine at Jay Easton’s (Peter McRobbie) house — the site where Catherine and her friend Isabel (Larissa Campos) were abused.
    — Kelly Allen, PEOPLE, 31 Aug. 2026
  • That series revealed just how little many local police departments are doing to make sure street-camera data is not being abused.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of abused
Verb
  • At its last meeting, some RBA board members had considered the case for additional tightening, saying that inflation in the country was still too high.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Throughout the summer, several players were considered, to varying degrees of seriousness.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 2 Sep. 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
  • For example, the customs around attire at the theater have relaxed quite a bit.
    — Eric Thomas, Sun Sentinel, 23 Aug. 2026
  • In one photo, Osbourne relaxed on a lounge chair in a leopard-print one-piece swimsuit while soaking up the sun.
    — Danielle Minnetian, FOXNews.com, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of relaxed

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 3 Sep. 2026.

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