kick the tyres

A form of kick the tires — To inspect something to ensure it meets expected standards or has favored characteristics, typically before committing to purchasing or otherwise selecting it.

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Meanings

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

present singular third person kicks the tyres · participle present kicking the tyres · participle past kicked the tyres · past kicked the tyres

  1. AustraliaNew ZealandUKalternativeidiomaticAlternative form of kick the tires.

    The tests give the market the chance to kick the tyres of some of Europe's weaker financial institutions, so you might expect the City to be enthusiastic about them.

    2011 July 15, Harry Wilson, “Stress tests are a chance for market to kick the tyres of Europe's banks”, in The Telegraph
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: kick the tyres on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.