Synonyms of kick around

kick around

verb

1

as in to debate

to give serious and careful thought to

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• debate
• entertain
• contemplate
• consider
• ponder
• study
• question
• eye
• chew on
• think (about or over)
• explore
• look at
• weigh
• wrestle (with)
• mull (over)
• review
• chew over
• analyze
• pore (over)
• deliberate
• meditate
• perpend
• ruminate
• cogitate
• revolve
• beat one's brains out (about)
• turn
• muse (upon)
• cudgel one's brains (about)
• reflect (on or upon)
• digest
• speculate (about)
• dwell (on or upon)
• obsess (about or over)
• fixate (on or upon)
• drink (in)
• brood (about or over)
• reminisce
• believe
• fret (about or over)
• reason
• conclude
• conceive
• absorb
• opine
• assimilate
• second-guess

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• ignore
• slight
• disregard
• overlook
• reject
• dismiss
• pooh-pooh

2

as in to play

to spend time in aimless activity

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• play
• fool around
• goof (around)
• fiddle (around)
• hang about
• putter (around)
• mess around
• potter (around)
• monkey (around)
• doodle
• fribble
• trifle
• hang (around or out)
• lounge
• horse around
• idle
• clown (around)
• loaf
• dawdle
• diddle (with)
• loll
• tinker
• dillydally
• dally

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• set (to)
• settle (down)
• buckle (down)
• knuckle down

3

as in to kill time

to spend time doing nothing

spent the afternoon kicking around, while his wife bought out the mall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• kill time
• hang (around or out)
• kick back
• hack (around)
• veg out
• goof (off)
• hang about
• lazy
• lounge
• bum
• rest
• relax
• play
• idle
• chill
• loaf
• footle
• stroll
• laze
• dawdle
• poke
• drone
• twiddle one's thumbs
• dillydally
• fiddle (around)
• muck
• putter (around)
• loll
• mess
• potter (around)
• estivate
• linger
• dally
• fool
• monkey
• trifle
• piddle
• hibernate
• doze
• loiter
• saunter
• lag
• amble
• swan
• mosey
• tarry
• goldbrick
• malinger
• truant
• furlough

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• work
• slave
• labor
• plow
• plug
• grind
• toil
• hustle
• sweat
• apply
• buckle (down)
• plod
• put out
• hump
• grub
• peg
• travail
• exert
• drudge
• moil

4

as in to roam

to move about from place to place aimlessly

after spending a year in Europe kicking around, the backpacker was ready to return home

Synonyms & Similar Words

• roam
• wander
• drift
• knock (about)
• stroll
• float
• cruise
• range
• meander
• rove
• traipse
• gad (about)
• bat
• mill (about or around)
• ramble
• saunter
• gallivant
• amble
• mooch
• maunder
• dawdle
• stray
• mope
• tramp
• straggle
• vagabond
• hobo

5

as in to abuse

to inflict physical or emotional harm upon

children who were raised by an alcoholic father who regularly kicked them around

Synonyms & Similar Words

• abuse
• take apart
• bully
• mess over
• torture
• misuse
• mistreat
• injure
• violate
• manhandle
• hurt
• oppress
• brutalize
• maltreat
• work (over)
• ill-use
• mishandle
• ill-treat
• persecute
• outrage
• harass
• beat (up)
• torment
• harm
• wrong
• molest
• rough (up)
• victimize
• burn
• mess (up)
• sandbag

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• care (for)
• foster
• cherish
• nurture
• baby
• cater (to)
• favor
• indulge
• gratify
• spoil
• humor
• pamper
• coddle
• mollycoddle

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of kick around

Every single night, through that winter, spring and summer, Caldwell and Rothstein kicked around potential game situations and ideas for how to approach them. — Luca Evans, Denver Post, 7 Sep. 2026

The fantasy of a cultural architecture that’s as flexible as culture itself has been kicking around for more than 100 years, and there’s something obscurely disappointing about seeing a technocratic version get put into practice. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 29 July 2026

Within the venue gates but outside the stands, groups of friends were playing cornhole and having picnic dinners from food trucks parked onsite; older attendees were chatting and kids were kicking around mini soccer balls. — Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 7 July 2026

Some of the finer moments for Nemes in the studio were during rehearsals, when the band was just kicking around ideas and jamming. — Tina Eves, SPIN, 1 July 2026