Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for kick-up

kick-up

or kick·up

[ kik-uhp ]

noun

  1. a violent disturbance or argument.


kick up

verb

  1. informal.
    to cause (trouble, a fuss, etc)
  2. kick up bobsy-die
    kick up bobsy-die See bobsy-die


Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of kick-up1

First recorded in 1790–95; kick ( def ) + up ( def )

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Malfunction, cause trouble or pain, as in My grandmother's arthritis is kicking up again . [ Colloquial ; first half of 1900s] Also see act up ; also subsequent entries beginning with kick up .

Discover More

Example Sentences

But I'm sure the AEI crowd is going to try to kick up some dust and see if it adheres.

We know in the current case that Joe Biden and Bill Daley gave very clear warnings that this would kick up dust.

Before this whole debt squabble got out of hand, Obama too was set to kick up his heels.

The fire has destroyed about 22 homes in Greer, and the town may still be in peril if expected high winds kick up again on Sunday.

Perhaps they will kick up less of a fuss if and when he decides, Nixon style, to choose “ peace with honor” in Afghanistan.

I knowed, a-course, that I could go kick up a fuss when Simpson stopped by his office on his trip back from Goldstone.

Scribes don't seem so precious anxious to kick up their lyric squalls.

Though such near neighbours, the females are never observed to kick up a row, or come to blows!

If ye were the great, grand Duke of Argyle himself, as ye ca' him, I'll no permit you to kick up a dust in my shop.

In a word, there was a desperate kick-up between them, the ane threeping that he would tak the law of the ither immediately.

Advertisement

Word of the Day

tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

Meaning and examples

Start each day with the Word of the Day in your inbox!

By clicking "Sign Up", you are accepting Dictionary.com Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policies.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement