kick-step

English

Etymology

kick +‎ step

Noun

kick-step (plural kick-steps)

1. (dance) A dance move in which the dancer first kicks a foot in the air in front of the opposite leg (often while bending the knee slightly on that leg) and then puts the foot down shifting balance on to it.
2. A hiking technique for managing loose soil where the hiker first aggressively kicks the ground, digging a foothold, before shifting weight onto the foot.
   • 2014, Marlene Collins, Quiet Savage, →ISBN, page 235:

     The kick-step she'd used to make steps out of the play area, was necessary to keep from sliding while walking across a slope.

Verb

kick-step (third-person singular simple present kick-steps, present participle kick-stepping, simple past and past participle kick-stepped)

1. (dance) To dance using a kick-step.
   • 2014, Paul Salopek, Blessed. Cursed. Claimed., National Geographic (December 2014)[1]

     Arms draped on shoulders, kick-stepping in circles, they swing bottles of wine. Purpled thumbs cork the bottles. The wine leaps and jumps behind green glass.

2. To hike using a kick-step.

Anagrams

• skeptick