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kick off

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kick off

 

1. Lit. to start play in a football game by kicking the ball. Tom kicked off in the last game. Now it's my turn. John tripped when he was kicking off.

2. and kick the bucket Fig. to die. Don't say that George Washington "kicked off." Say that he "passed away." My cat kicked off last night. She was tough as a lion. When I kick the bucket, I want a huge funeral with lots of flowers and crying.

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kick something off

Fig. to begin something; to hold a party or ceremony to mark the start of something. (Alludes to starting a football game by kicking off the ball for the first play.) The city kicked the centennial celebration off with a parade. They kicked off the celebration with a parade.

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kick something off (of) someone or something

 and kick something off

to knock something off someone or something by kicking. (Of is usually retained before pronouns.) The baby must have kicked her covers off of herself in the night. She kicked off her covers in the night.

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kick off something

to begin something We like to kick off the summer by having friends over for a barbecue.

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kick somebody off something

(slang)

to force someone to leave a group Fred was difficult to work with and finally we kicked him off the planning committee. He was kicked off the team.

See also: kick, off

kick off

1. Start, begin, as in They kicked off the celebration with a parade. This term alludes to starting play by kicking the ball in soccer, football, and similar sports. [Mid-1800s]

2. See kick in, def. 2.

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kick off

v.

1. To begin; start: The party will kick off around 4:00, so we need to leave here at 3:30.

2. To begin something; cause something to start: The author kicked off the book tour with a press conference. Our annual film festival starts tomorrow, and we will be kicking it off with a screening of contemporary African films.

3. To expel someone from some official group: I was such a bad player that they finally kicked me off the team. I served on the committee for a few months, but they soon kicked me off for not going to the meetings. I got kicked off the swim team for drinking alcohol during the season.

4. To suddenly disconnect someone from some computer network. Used chiefly in the passive: I was kicked off the Internet while I was downloading some software.

5. Sports To begin or resume play by kicking a ball: The home team kicked off at the top of the second half.

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kick (off)

in. to die. We’ve been waiting for years for that cat to kick off.

See also: kick, off