kick in
See also: kickin'
English
editPronunciation
editAudio (General Australian): (file)
Verb
editkick in (third-person singular simple present kicks in, present participle kicking in, simple past and past participle kicked in)
- (transitive) To kick or strike so as to cause the object struck to collapse or fall inwards.
- Upon hearing residents in the burning house, the passerby kicked in the front door and yelled to those inside.
- (transitive, slang) To kick or strike (a person); to beat up
- (intransitive, idiomatic) To start, connect, or take effect, especially in a sudden way.
- 2013, Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight (motion picture), Julie Delpy (actor):
- People expect women [when they give birth] to have this instinct that kicks in.
- 2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 289:
- Once the wet kicks in up north, you can be stranded for months waiting for swollen rivers to subside to a crossable depth[.]
- You have to push the switch hard to get the heater to kick in.
- I took my medication an hour ago, and it hasn't kicked in yet.
- (transitive and intransitive, idiomatic) To contribute, especially to a collection of money.
- For the year-end party, we're asking each employee to kick in twenty dollars.
- This is a worthy charity, so everyone should kick in.
Translations
editTo kick or strike so as to cause the object struck to collapse or fall inwards
To start or connect suddenly
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To contribute, especially to a collection of money
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