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• mike
  mike

  noun

  Also microphone.
• Mike
  Mike

  noun

  a male given name, form of Michael.

mike

¹ American  

[mahyk] / maɪk /

noun

1. Informal. Also microphone.

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verb (used with object)

miked, miking

1. Informal. to supply or amplify with one or more microphones; attach a microphone to.

   to mike a singer.

verb (used without object)

miked, miking

1. Informal. to use or position a microphone.

   to mike properly when recording a singer.

idioms

1. drop the mike, mic.

mike ² American  

[mahyk] / maɪk /

noun

1. a forklike support for a light cannon on a sailing ship.

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mike ³ American  

[mahyk] / maɪk /

noun

1. loafing; idling.

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verb (used without object)

miked, miking

1. to loaf.

mike ⁴ American  

[mahyk] / maɪk /

noun

1. micrometer.

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verb (used with object)

miked, miking

1. to measure with a micrometer.

Mike ⁵ American  

[mahyk] / maɪk /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Michael.

2. (lowercase) a word used in communications to represent the letter M.

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Mike ¹ British  

/ maɪk /

noun

1. communications a code word for the letter m

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mike ² British  

/ maɪk /

noun

1. informal short for microphone See also mike up

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Etymology

Origin of mike¹

First recorded in 1925–30; by shortening and respelling

Origin of mike²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English; perhaps from Middle Dutch micke “forked support”; further origin uncertain

Origin of mike³

First recorded in 1815–25; origin uncertain

Origin of mike⁴

First recorded in 1920–25; by shortening and respelling of micrometer ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mike Mike miked miking

“Precise and circumspect, with an avuncular demeanor and an authoritative voice .... Summerall indulged his partner’s many appetites and asides, even when that meant being elbowed aside at the mike and in the limelight.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 8, 2024

“I never go out and look to grab the mike or go in front of the TV camera. When I go to work everyday, I check my ego at the door.”

From Washington Times ● Dec. 27, 2023

Before the game, Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke had taken the mike and exhorted the crowd to “blow the roof off this joint.”

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 22, 2023

For his encore Joel rose from behind his piano and grabbed a mike on a stand to belt out “Uptown Girl” and “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” as his band cranked the guitars.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2023

“Live feed. Nuclear battery. No time limit. The mike is voice activated.”

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

It makes a good comeback story, but Mike Sielski says the tale’s “a bunch of baloney.”

From Slate ● Nov. 9, 2026

There’s a moment when quarterback Mike Winchell tells his coach he feels cursed.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026

That deal included a $1.95 billion payment to Barrick and an agreement to add Barrick’s promising Fourmile project and Newmont’s Fiberline and Mike developments to the Nevada venture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026

That in large part is a withering indictment of new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel, whose scheme has been a round-peg, square-hole fiasco, with his players unable to establish any semblance of a rhythm.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026

In Dr. Mike Burry’s first year in business, he grappled briefly with the social dimension of running money.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

In addition to their own Dolby Atmos mikes on timpani, horns and opera soloists, they hired Classic Sounds of London, who have miked the Ely Cathedral before.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2024

Given the size of the venue, Kaufmann was miked.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 27, 2023

In a 2,500-seat auditorium, having a full string section play it is far more effective than a miked string quartet.

From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2023

Not only are the actors miked, but each of the instruments is as well.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 29, 2022

Also, once the actors are miked, he doesn’t want Zach biting into an apple and having an audible crunch bounce off the auditorium walls.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

The singer is an emotionally extravagant Erika Stiedry-Wagner, who fought with the composer over miking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2020

The Village Vanguard, the venerable Greenwich Village basement club, has started weekly livestreams of top-tier small groups that observe masking and social-distancing guidelines, with studio-quality miking and detailed camera work that illuminates the music.

From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2020

“There was no proscenium. I couldn’t do scene changes. There was no pit, so the band had to be up and visible. There was no point in miking, because the theatre was too small.”

From The New Yorker ● Sep. 17, 2018

Vocal standouts, despite that harsh miking, include soaring sopranos Jennifer Bromagen, Megan Chenovick and Rachel DeShon, all playing multiple roles.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 14, 2014

T'aint no good miking a fuss about it, yer know, guv'nor!

From Mr. Punch's Cockney Humour by Various

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