to kick back
11
8.4
- phrasal verb
- /kɪk bæk/
- NSFW
:
sobornar
- They discovered that the manager had been receiving kick backs from the vendors for years.
- just kick back
- kick back and relax
- kick back and enjoy
Examples
-
He was accused of accepting a kick back from the supplier in exchange for preferential treatment.
-
I thought maybe we could, uh, put our feet up and kick back, and you can help me think this through.
-
Now, I kick back, with every day a Sunday, and read, play on my computer, or watch Netflix films!
Blog text (32) -
The offseason should be a time to kick back, relax, and boast a bit.
Blog text (26) -
Why get cranky over this little fiasco? It's Thanksgiving week; they want to get home and kick back.
Blog text (25) -
Originally, Sophie had intended to spend her summer doing what she hadn't done for the previous three years: kicking back.
Blog text (6) -
However, a few good buddies and I love to kick back with good brew and play my 7 RAD machines on weekend nights, and this weekend is no exception.
Blog text (6) -
When he's not inspiring us with his ideas, you can find him in the kitchen rocking a pair of Ray-Bans, kicking back and talking up affiliate programs.
Blog text (22) -
The company had to pay a kick back to secure the contract with the government.
Synonyms
507
8.9
To pay someone illegally to influence their actions
24
5.0
Give someone money to influence them in a dishonest way
16
6.8
Give money or gifts to someone so they stay quiet and do something wrong
How Illegal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to recoil or spring backward' is directly compositional from 'kick' (a sudden forceful movement) + 'back' (toward the rear), following a common verb + directional particle pattern that is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows those constituent meanings would readily infer it. (The provided gloss of 'back' as 'to provide support' is a different sense and could mislead, and there are other idiomatic senses of 'kick back' like 'relax' or 'bribe', but the recoil meaning itself is transparent.)
Etymology
Kick back may come from the image of someone literally kicking a small part of a payment back under the table to the person who helps them. That's why it means 'to pay a bribe' or give secret money to get a favor.