flutter kick
- noun
- Specialized
:
patada de aleteo
- During the backstroke, she maintained a steady flutter kick to propel herself through the water.
Examples
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To improve your freestyle technique, practice the flutter kick by moving your legs up and down rapidly.
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The coach demonstrated how to do a proper flutter kick while keeping your legs straight.
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To improve your speed in freestyle, work on strengthening your flutter kick.
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She practiced the flutter kick every day.
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Can you show me a flutter kick?
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The coach demonstrated the flutter kick, emphasizing the importance of keeping your knees straight.
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For better backstroke performance, mastering the flutter kick is essential to propel yourself through the water.
Synonyms
A repeated leg movement in swimming that pushes the body forward
Antonyms
How Vigorous
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'flutter' (a light rapid back-and-forth movement) with 'kick' (a leg movement), so an average B1 learner who knows both words can infer this is a rapid alternating leg movement used in swimming. The composition is literal and follows common motion+action naming patterns found cross-linguistically, so no idiomatic knowledge is required.
Etymology
The term flutter kick comes from the image of legs making small, quick up-and-down movements, with flutter like a bird's wings and kick pushing at the water. That's why it means the swimming leg action used to 'move forward'.