Link Centre Dictionary

spike

UK/spaɪk/ US/ˈspaɪk/ common informal slang
noun (9) verb (6)

noun

1.
2.

sports equipment consisting of a sharp point on the sole of a shoe worn by athletes

  • “spikes provide greater traction”
3.
4.
5.

a sharp rise followed by a sharp decline

  • “the seismograph showed a sharp spike in response to the temblor”
6.
7.
8.

any holding device consisting of a long sharp-pointed object

9.

verb

1.

stand in the way of

2.

pierce with a sharp stake or point

  • “impale a shrimp on a skewer”
Synonyms
3.

secure with spikes

4.

bring forth a spike or spikes

  • “my hyacinths and orchids are spiking now”
Synonyms
5.

add alcohol beverages

Synonyms
6.

manifest a sharp increase

  • “the voltage spiked”

Origin

From Middle English spike, spyke, spik, from Old Norse spík (“spike, sprig”), from Proto-Germanic *spīkō (“stick, splinter, point”), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“to be pointed; sharp point, stick”). Cognate with Icelandic spík (“spike”), Swedish spik (“spike, nail”), Dutch spijker (“nail”), Old English spīcing (“spike”), and Latin spīca (“ear of corn”), which may have influenced some senses.

Phrases

  • butt spike
  • dog spike
  • golden spike
  • liberty spike
  • marlin spike
  • marline spike
  • marling spike
  • oil of spike
  • spike a temp
  • spike a temperature
  • spike someone's guns
  • spike up

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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Parts

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.