kick around

verb

kicked around; kicking around; kicks around

intransitive verb

1

: to wander or pass time aimlessly

2

a

: to lie about mostly unnoticed or forgotten

b

: to undergo consideration usually intermittently over a period of time

ideas that have been kicking around for years

transitive verb

1

: to treat in an inconsiderate or high-handed fashion

2

: to consider, examine, or discuss from various angles

Synonyms

• chew over
• cogitate
• consider
• contemplate
• debate
• deliberate
• entertain
• eye
• meditate
• mull (over)
• perpend
• ponder
• pore (over)
• question
• revolve
• ruminate
• study
• think (about or over)
• turn
• weigh
• wrestle (with)

Examples of kick around in a Sentence

the board spent the afternoon kicking around the feasibility of opening an overseas office

I really can't do much but kick around at work until I get the rest of the submissions.

Recent Examples on the Web

Given Heretic’s clear joy in kicking around ideas, this is frustrating. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024

The board kicked around ideas about how to reclaim the money, which has been at the center of a raging controversy since the giveaway became public ten days ago, but never settled on a strategy. —Stephen Hudak, Orlando Sentinel, 20 Nov. 2024

Watsky and some of his friends left the studio, but Chester and Mike lingered together — spending a few hours talking, kicking around song ideas, game-planning their upcoming shows. —Daniela Avila, People.com, 27 Sep. 2024

Additionally, the numbers themselves were rendered in a different typeface that was slightly more stylized than a non-exotic dial (some call it a Bauhaus font, but that term gets kicked around kind of loosely). —Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 20 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1