kick into touch

verb

To kick a ball over the touchline in a game of rugby, often to avoid pressure from the opponent team in a difficult situation, to end injury time or to gain territory.

“It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm going to kick it into touch.”

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Meanings

verbkick into touch (third-person singular simple present kicks into touch, present participle kicking into touch, simple past and past participle kicked into touch)

present singular third person kicks into touch · participle present kicking into touch · participle past kicked into touch · past kicked into touch · alternative kick to touch

  1. UKhobbiesTo kick a ball over the touchline in a game of rugby, often to avoid pressure from the opponent team in a difficult situation, to end injury time or to gain territory.
  2. IrelandUKidiomaticTo evade an issue; to stop from happening.

    It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm going to kick it into touch.

    1 more example

    With referee Mark Clattenburg at the centre of a new racism row, is football once more succumbing to a blight many thought had been kicked into touch?

    2012 October 29, Barney Ronay, “Is the Premier League becoming racist again?”, in The Guardian

Translations

Finnish potkaista sivurajan yli, sysätä syrjään
  • potkaista sivurajan ylirugby
  • sysätä syrjäänevade an issue
French botter en touche, botter en touche
  • botter en toucherugby
  • botter en toucheevade an issue
  • noyer le poissonevade an issue
Cite this entry
APA

kick into touch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kick%20into%20touch

MLA

“kick into touch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kick%20into%20touch. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kick into touch,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kick%20into%20touch.

Source: kick into touch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.