spike

1 of 3

noun (1)

plural spikes
1
: a very large nail
2
a
: one of a row of pointed irons placed (as on the top of a wall) to prevent passage
b(1)
: one of several metal projections set in the sole and heel of a shoe to improve traction
(2)
spikes plural : a pair of shoes having spikes attached to the soles or soles and heels
They met when after a round of golf he came into the restaurant at which she worked—still wearing his golf spikes.John Strege
3
: something resembling a spike: such as
a
: a young mackerel not over six inches (15.2 centimeters) long
b
: an unbranched antler of a young deer
c
: spike protein
Without its spikes, the pathogen can't get into human cells.Katherine J. Wu
4
spikes plural : spike heel sense 2
5
: the act or an instance of spiking (as in volleyball)
6
a
: a pointed element in a graph or tracing
b
: an unusually high and sharply defined maximum (as of amplitude in a wave train)
7
8
: a momentary sharp increase and fall in electric potential
9
: an abrupt sharp increase (as in prices or rates)
a spike in unemployment
a spike in the number of infections
spikelike adjective

spike

2 of 3

verb

spiked; spiking

transitive verb

1
: to fasten or furnish with spikes
2
a
: to disable (a muzzle-loading cannon) temporarily by driving a spike into the vent
b
: to suppress or block completely
spiked the rumor
3
a
: to pierce or impale with or on a spike
b
: to reject (a story) for publication or broadcast for editorial reasons
4
a
: to add an alcoholic beverage to (a drink)
spiked the punch
b
: to add a foreign substance to
spike the coffee with tranquilizers
c
: to add something highly reactive (such as a radioactive tracer) to
d
: to add vitality, zest, or spice to : liven
spiked the speech with humor
spike the broth with peppers
5
: to drive (something, such as a volleyball) sharply downward with a hard blow
also : to throw down sharply
spiked the ball in the end zone
6
: to undergo a sudden sharp increase in (temperature or fever)
the patient spiked a fever of 103°

intransitive verb

: to increase sharply
battery sales spiked after the storm
spiker noun

spike

3 of 3

noun (2)

1
: an ear of grain
2
: an elongated inflorescence similar to a raceme but having the flowers sessile on the main axis see inflorescence illustration

Examples of spike in a Sentence

Verb Someone spiked the punch at the party. The medication caused his blood pressure to spike. She spiked the ball and scored the winning point. After he scored a touchdown he spiked the ball in the end zone.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
If there’s a spike in the stock, for example, a large group of Redditors may want to sell their shares to earn a profit rather than holding for the potential of long-term gains. Rachyl Jones, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024 The latest spike, though, is attributable to exhaustion on both sides of the political spectrum, Permunian says. Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 20 Mar. 2024 In metro areas around the state, price spikes were within a few cents of that. David Clarey, Journal Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2024 Many of the strandings, especially in 2019 when there was a spike in deaths, were reproductive females, taking a lot of moms or would-be-moms out of the equation, Schulman-Janiger noted. Laylan Connelly, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2024 Proudfoot said there was a spike in donations after the Oscars, including from people who benefited from the L.A. music program as children. Cathy Free, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 The shift to renewable energy and electric vehicles has caused a spike in the demand for critical minerals, driving these kind of loans. Taiwo Adebayo, Quartz, 12 Mar. 2024 That spike was worsened by the crack cocaine crisis. USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2024 Reaction to Nex’s death and the spike in calls to the Rainbow Youth Project highlight the challenges the LGBTQ community faces in Oklahoma. Justin Gamble, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024
Verb
By that summer, inflation reached a 40-year peak, due in part to spiking energy costs after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Rachel Siegel, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024 So, again spiking attendance, a famed co-pro meet has developed ever more as licensing market, the presence of international distributors attracting ever more companies which are still facing huge competition to snag sales. John Hopewell, Variety, 15 Mar. 2024 By Brian Fung | CNN Searches for virtual private networking (VPN) software briefly spiked in Texas this week after Pornhub suspended service in the state over a law forcing adult websites to verify the age or identities of their users. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 15 Mar. 2024 To meet spiking demand, utilities in states like Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia are proposing to build dozens of power plants over the next 15 years that would burn natural gas. Brad Plumer, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024 Calls to America’s Poison Centers about delta-8 products spiked 82% from 2021 to 2022, the group said in a recent report, with 3,358 exposures managed in 2022. Jen Christensen, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024 Because GPUs have proved so crucial to deep-learning applications and artificial intelligence more broadly, demand for them has spiked beyond all reason. Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2024 A little bit goes a long way, as the creamy formula is spiked with rich botanical hydrators that protect against UV damage and breakage on top of amplifying radiance. Mary Honkus, Glamour, 7 Mar. 2024 In 2006, referees had been given a similar, but less explicit, edict, and technicals had spiked. Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spike.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, probably from Old Norse spīk splinter & spīkr spike; akin to Middle Dutch spiker spike — more at spoke

Noun (2)

Middle English spik, from Latin spica — more at spine

First Known Use

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1624, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of spike was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near spike

Cite this Entry

“Spike.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spike. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

spike

1 of 3 noun
1
: a very large nail
2
a
: one of the metal objects set in the sole and heel of a shoe (as a baseball shoe) to prevent slipping
b
plural : a pair of shoes having spikes
3
: an unbranched antler of a young deer
4
: the act or an instance of spiking (as in volleyball)
5
: a pointed element (as in a graph)

spike

2 of 3 verb
spiked; spiking
1
: to fasten or furnish with spikes
2
: to pierce or cut with or on a spike
3
: to add alcoholic liquor to a drink
4
: to drive (as a volleyball) sharply downward
5
: to increase sharply
battery sales spiked after the storm

spike

3 of 3 noun
1
: an ear of grain
2
: a long usually rather narrow cluster of flowers in which the blossoms grow close to the central stem
Etymology

Noun

Middle English spike "a large nail"; probably of Scandinavian origin

Noun

Middle English spik "a head of a stalk of grain, ear," from Latin spica (same meaning)

Medical Definition

spike

1 of 2 noun
: a change (as in voltage) involving a sharp increase and fall or a recording of this: as
a
: the pointed element in the wave tracing in an electroencephalogram
b
: a sharp increase in body temperature followed by a rapid fall
a fever with spikes to 103°
c(1)
: the sharp increase and fall in the recorded action potential of a stimulated nerve cell that during the increasing phase corresponds to an inrush of sodium ions to the interior of the cell and during the decreasing phase corresponds to a slowing of the influx of sodium ions and to an increasing efflux of potassium ions to the exterior

spike

2 of 2 transitive verb
spiked; spiking
: to undergo a sudden sharp increase in (temperature or fever) usually up to an indicated level
infected patients spiked fevers as high as 105°F

More from Merriam-Webster on spike

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