What does kicker mean?
A kicker is most commonly a football player who takes penalty kicks or place kicks, including the kick that decides a close match. The word can also denote the decisive kick itself. In informal North American English, however, “kicker” has a broader and sometimes less literal use for a final obstacle, deadline, or difficult task that must be dealt with urgently. Phrases such as “the final kicker” may therefore refer either to the last decisive attempt in a project or, in a sporting context, to a decisive kick. Although the business sense is metaphorical, it retains the idea of a forceful, consequential act. Outside sports and formal terminology, the word is generally informal and is best suited to conversational or workplace discussion rather than highly formal writing.
nounA kicker is a person or device that kicks, especially a football player who takes penalty or place kicks. In informal North American usage, it can also mean a final, decisive effort or an unexpected problem, expense, or deadline.
- An informal North American term for a deadline, final task, or sudden obstacle that creates pressure or requires decisive action.
- A football player whose role is to take kicks, especially penalty kicks or place kicks.
- A kick that scores a goal or determines the outcome of a play, especially a decisive final kick.
- A person or mechanical device that operates by kicking.
"The kicker converted the penalty in the final minutes of the match."
"The proposed launch is scheduled for Friday, but the final security review is a real kicker."
"She has been the team's most dependable kicker for three seasons."
"The decisive kicker sailed over the crossbar in the closing seconds."
Used when referring to several kicking players, devices, deadlines, or obstacles.
"The club signed two kickers before the season began."
In North American business jargon, a “kicker” is often less welcome than it sounds: it can be a looming deadline or an unexpected final obstacle.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does kicker come from?
“Kicker” was formed in the early 19th century from “kick” and the agent suffix “-er,” originally denoting a person or thing that kicks. Its football sense followed from that literal meaning, while the later business sense developed metaphorically from the idea of a final or decisive action. The word is an English derivation and has no widely established set of separate cognates that can confidently be listed.
How kicker is actually used
The deadline and obstacle senses are informal and especially common in North American workplace and project-management contexts. In British and North American sports usage, it normally refers to a player who takes kicks or, occasionally, to the decisive kick itself.
Easily confused with kicker
A kick is the act or movement of striking something with the foot, whereas a kicker is the person or device that performs the kicking.