kick-down

A form of kickdown — In a vehicle with automatic transmission, a downshift triggered by pressing down the throttle pedal.

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Meanings

nounkick-down (plural kick-downs)

plural kick-downs

  1. alternativeAlternative form of kickdown.

    In general upward changes are bumpy; downward changes, including kick-downs, are O.K.

    1969, The Motor - Volume 135, page 73
    2 more examples

    Add this up and you will stick to the freeways where even the automatic is fine. Not the most modern system around, it takes its time about kick-downs and shows.

    1973, Road Test - Volume 9, page 280

    This is especially useful for release element slip control on upshifts and release element hold-speed control on kick-downs; this logic is still used for those functions.

    1991, Automotive Design Engineering
Cite this entry
APA

kick-down. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kick-down

MLA

“kick-down.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kick-down. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kick-down,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kick-down.

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