Word: kite Part of Speech: verb Etymology: The noun is from Middle English kyte, kīte, kete (“a kite endemic to Europe, especially the red kite (Milvus milvus)”), from Old English cȳta (“kite; bittern”), from Proto-West Germanic *kūtijō, diminutive of Proto-West Germanic *kūt (“bird of prey”), from Proto-Indo-European *gewH-d- (“to cry, screech”). The English word is cognate with Scots kyt, kyte (“kite; bird of prey”), Middle High German kiuzelīn, kützlīn (“owling”) (modern German Kauz (“owl”)). Possibly a doublet of coot. Sense 3 (“lightweight toy”) is from the fact that it hovers in the air like the bird. The verb is derived from the noun. Pronunciation: /kaɪt/, /kəɪt/, [kʰəɪʔ] 1. To cause (something) to move upwards rapidly like a toy kite; also (chiefly US, figuratively) to cause (something, such as costs) to increase rapidly. Labels: transitive Example: Rising interest rates have kited the cost of housing. Example: […] when he saw the fuse of the firecracker was lighted, he turned the torch on the powder under the barrel of dried apples, and in a second everything went kiting; the barrel of dried apples with the cat in it went up to the ceiling, the stove was blown over the counter, the cheese box and the old groceryman went with a crash to the back end of the store, the front windows blew out on the sidewalk, the old man rushed out the back door with his whiskers singed and yelled "Fire!" 2. To tamper with a document or record by increasing the quantity of something beyond its proper amount so that the difference may be unlawfully retained; in particular, to alter a medical prescription for this purpose by increasing the number of pills or other items. Labels: slang, transitive Example: A pharmacist "kited" and "shorted" a significant percentage of prescriptions. "Kiting" refers to the pharmacist's forging upward the number of pills originally prescribed by the physician, charging Medicaid for the increased amount but providing the patient with the originally prescribed quantity. Example: Pharmacists have kited Medicaid prescriptions by raising the number of pills called for on a prescription blank from, say, 100 to 200, and billing Medicaid for the larger amount. 3. To keep ahead of (an enemy) and repeatedly attack it from a distance, without exposing oneself to danger. Labels: transitive 4. To attack (an enemy) or otherwise cause it to give chase, so as to lead it somewhere (like a kite is led on a string), for example into a trap or ambush or away from its comrades or something it was protecting. Labels: transitive Example: I hate it when my knight is kited away from the castle that I'm attacking! 5. To (cause to) glide in the manner of a kite (“bird”). Labels: ambitransitive, transitive Example: If you're pulling or kiting a creature and it aggros an innocent passer-by, it's your fault and you should apologize. Example: The wind kited us toward shore. 6. To manipulate like a toy kite; also, usually preceded by an inflection of go: to fly a toy kite. Labels: ambitransitive, rare Example: Want to go kite with me this weekend? Example: Finally, if you have no one to fly a kite with, you can kite alone. 7. To write or present (a cheque) on an account with insufficient funds, either to defraud or expecting that funds will become available by the time the cheque clears. Labels: ambitransitive, slang Example: He was convicted of kiting checks and sentenced to two years in prison. Example: “An affair of honour!” said O’Flaherty, squaring himself. He smelt powder in everything. “More like an affair of dishonour,” said Toole, buttoning his coat. “He’s been ‘kiting’ all over the town. Nutter can distrain for his rent to-morrow, and Cluffe called him outside the bar to speak with him; put that and that together, sir.” 8. To steal. Labels: US, ambitransitive, broadly, slang Example: Andy also kept a box of that [steel wool] in his cell, although he didn't get it from me—I imagine he kited it from the prison laundry. Example: Little bastards were always trying to kite stuff, particularly the candy and the girly magazines. 9. To travel by kite, as when kitesurfing. Labels: intransitive Example: We spent the afternoon kiting around the bay. Example: If we kited again, it would be very dangerous with the steep slope and the heavy weight crashing on behind us and, in any event, Pat and Dave's kites were ridiculously tangled. 10. To move rapidly; to rush. Labels: figuratively, intransitive Example: They commenced whipping their horses at the base, and, as one of the prisoners expressed it, "they went kiting up the hill, and for nearly a mile after the summit had been gained." Example: Q. The supervisor of a particular district would go around in his carriage. […] They went kiting around for a couple of weeks? A. Yes, sir; for four weeks prior to election. Q. Were the carriages necessary? A. I didn't see any necessity for them. 11. To deflect sideways in the water. Labels: intransitive Example: This column action causes the tow line to kite either to the port or the starboard side, […] 12. To pass a (usually concealed) letter or oral message, especially illegally, into, within, or out of a prison. Labels: US, intransitive, slang Example: Prison Hall in Central Hospital was claimed by some patients to be "organized" in the more extensive manner of prisons for the sane. Here, it was claimed, an attendant could be bribed to "kite" a letter or bring in contraband, […] Example: I have been working like a dam mule this morning and just found time to kite you.