kick the habit

kick the habit
also, break the habit

Meaning | Synonyms

• to overcome an addiction especially of an addiction like drugs
• to kick the habit also means to break off with a habitual habit as inferred from the word itself
• to give up something you had been doing for a long time

Example Sentences

1. Even after trying so hard, I could not kick the habit of drinking.
2. Doctors should try to persuade smokers to kick the habit.
3. Teenagers spent a lot of time surfing on social media. They just can't kick the habit.
4. Recently, some of my friends and I joined a campaign called: “Kick The Habit” which emphasized youth to quit smoking.
5. They're members of Lawrence's tap dancing class, and they just can't kick the habit.
6. Once a child becomes accustomed to chewing his nails, it's difficult to kick the habit.
7. A person needs serious discipline to kick a habit like drinking.
8. You need to see the doctor since your can't break the habit of washing hand over and over again.

Origin

Although the accurate origin of this idiom is not available, it got its first usage during the first half of the 1900s. This idiom uses the verb ‘kick' in a phrasal form which means to ‘get rid' of. This can be used in an informal way whenever we want to talk about any accustomed habit.

Here is a small story that will help you remember the idiom: David and John were playing a game of football with some of their friends as usual. David passed the ball to john and asked to make a goal. John stood in the field with the ball as he couldn't handle the pressure of making a goal. His friend yelled at him and asked him to kick the habit.

So here the phrase is used metaphorically i.e. to get rid of the habit as well as kick the ball.