KICK IN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does kick in mean? 

• KICK IN (verb)
  The verb KICK IN has 3 senses:

1. enter a particular state

2. contribute to some cause

3. open violently

  Familiarity information: KICK IN used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KICK IN (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Enter a particular state

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

kick in; set in

Context example:

After a few moments, the effects of the drug kicked in

Hypernyms (to "kick in" is one way to...):

begin; start (have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative sense)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Contribute to some cause

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

chip in; contribute; give; kick in

Context example:

I gave at the office

Hypernyms (to "kick in" is one way to...):

give (transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "kick in"):

combine (add together from different sources)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

Open violently

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

kick down; kick in

Context example:

kick in the doors

Hypernyms (to "kick in" is one way to...):

destroy; ruin (destroy completely; damage irreparably)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

 Context examples 

So I broke away early this mornin', gave my guard a kick in the tummy that laid him out, and sprinted for the camp.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Again: because it is a general complaint, that the favourites of princes are troubled with short and weak memories; the same doctor proposed, that whoever attended a first minister, after having told his business, with the utmost brevity and in the plainest words, should, at his departure, give the said minister a tweak by the nose, or a kick in the belly, or tread on his corns, or lug him thrice by both ears, or run a pin into his breech; or pinch his arm black and blue, to prevent forgetfulness; and at every levee day, repeat the same operation, till the business were done, or absolutely refused.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)