Dictionary

kick in en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (transitive) To kick; to collapse or break by kicking. ▸ To kick or strike so as to cause the object struck to collapse or fall inwards.
   • You touch me again, I swear I’ll kick your teeth in.
   • Upon hearing residents in the burning house, the passerby kicked in the front door and yelled to those inside.
2. (slang, transitive) To kick; to collapse or break by kicking. ▸ To kick or strike (a person); to beat up.
3. (idiomatic, intransitive) To begin, contribute or join in on. ▸ To start, connect, or take effect, especially in a sudden way; to begin functioning.
   • I took my medication an hour ago, and it hasn't kicked in yet.
   • Once the wet kicks in up north, you can be stranded for months waiting for swollen rivers to subside to a crossable depth[.] 2005, Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch, Sydney: Allen and Unwin, page 289:
   • People expect women [when they give birth] to have this instinct that kicks in. 2013, Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Before Midnight (motion picture), Julie Delpy (actor):
   • You have to push the switch hard to get the heater to kick in.
4. (slang) To begin, contribute or join in on. ▸ To join or begin.
   • The rhythm section will kick in after that point.
   • You should kick in on the work.
5. (idiomatic, intransitive, transitive) To begin, contribute or join in on. ▸ To contribute, especially to a collection of money; to hand over.
   • 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.
6. (idiomatic) To die; to give up on something.
   • The business is going to kick in most likely.

Forms

Relateds

kick in the pants

Translations (11)

fi alkaa vaikuttaa (To start or connect suddenly) · ru включаться (To start or connect suddenly) · fi alkaa käydä (To start or connect suddenly) · ru вышиба́ть (To kick or strike so as to cause the object struck to collapse or fall inwards) · ru вноси́ть долю (To contribute, especially to a collection of money) · es surtir efecto (To start or connect suddenly) · fi potkaista sisään (To kick or strike so as to cause the object struck to collapse or fall inwards) · es poner en marcha (To start or connect suddenly) · fi kaivaa kuvetta (To contribute, especially to a collection of money) · fi lahjoittaa (To contribute, especially to a collection of money) · ru подключаться (To start or connect suddenly)