spike

¹ American  

[spahyk] / spaɪk /

noun

1. a naillike fastener, 3 to 12 inches (7.6 to 30.5 centimeters) long and proportionately thicker than a common nail, for fastening together heavy timbers or railroad track.

2. something resembling such a nail; a stiff, sharp-pointed piece or part.

   to set spikes in the top of a cement wall.

3. a sharp-pointed piece of metal set with the point outward, as on a weapon.

4. an abrupt increase or rise.

   a chart showing a spike of unusual activity in the stock market; a sudden spike of electrical current.

5. a rectangular or naillike metal projection on the heel and sole of a shoe for improving traction, as of a baseball player or a runner.

6. spikes, a pair of shoes having such projections.

7. the unbranched antler of a young deer.

8. Botany. a flower stalk.

9. a pointed portion of a continuous curve or graph, usually rising above the adjacent portion.

   a spike in the value of the voltage.

10. Volleyball. a hard smash, hit close to the net, almost straight down into the opponent's court.

11. Slang. a hypodermic needle.

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verb (used with object)

• spikes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• spiked,
  past participle,  past
• spiking
  present participle

1. to fasten or secure with a spike or spikes.

2. to provide or set with a spike or spikes.

3. to pierce with or impale on a spike.

4. to set or stud with something suggesting spikes.

5. to injure (another player or a competitor) with the spikes of one's shoe, as in baseball.

6. Volleyball. to hit (a ball in the air) with a powerful, overarm motion from a position close to the net so as to cause it to travel almost straight down into the court of the opponents.

7. Football. to slam (the ball) to the ground in the end zone, after scoring a touchdown.

8. to render (a muzzle-loading gun) useless by driving a spike into the touchhole.

9. to make ineffective; frustrate or thwart.

   to spike a rumor; to spike someone's chances for promotion.

10. Informal.

    1. to add alcoholic liquor to (a drink).

    2. to add (a chemical, poison, or other substance) to.

       The cocoa was spiked with cyanide.

11. Journalism Slang. to refuse (a story) by or as if by placing on a spindle.

verb (used without object)

• spikes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• spiked,
  past participle,  past
• spiking
  present participle

1. to rise or increase sharply (often followed byup ).

   Interest rates spiked up last week.

idioms

1. spike someone's guns. gun.

spike ² American  

[spahyk] / spaɪk /

noun

1. an ear, as of wheat or other grain.

2. Botany. an inflorescence in which the flowers are without a stalk, or apparently so, along an elongated, unbranched axis.

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spike ¹ British  

/ spaɪk /

noun

1. a sharp point

2. any sharp-pointed object, esp one made of metal

3. a long metal nail

4. physics

   1. a transient variation in voltage or current in an electric circuit

   2. a graphical recording of this, such as one of the peaks on an electroencephalogram

5. (plural) shoes with metal projections on the sole and heel for greater traction, as used by athletes

6. the straight unbranched antler of a young deer

7. slang another word for dosshouse

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verb

1. to secure or supply with or as with spikes

2. to render ineffective or block the intentions of; thwart

3. to impale on a spike

4. to add alcohol to (a drink)

5. journalism to reject (a news story)

6. volleyball to hit (a ball) sharply downwards with an overarm motion from the front of one's own court into the opposing court

7. (formerly) to render (a cannon) ineffective by blocking its vent with a spike

8. to thwart someone's purpose

spike ² British  

/ spaɪk /

noun

1. an inflorescence consisting of a raceme of sessile flowers, as in the gladiolus and sedges

2. an ear of wheat, barley, or any other grass that has sessile spikelets

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spike Scientific  

/ spīk /

1. An elongated indeterminate inflorescence in which the flowers are attached directly to a common stem, rather than borne on individual stalks arising from the stem. The gladiolus produces spikes. The distinctive spikes of grasses such as wheat or barley are known as spikelets.

2. See illustration at inflorescence

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spikelike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• spiking
  present
• spiked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• spike
  simple
• spikes
  simple
• have spiked
  perfect
• has spiked
  perfect
• am spiking
  progressive
• are spiking
  progressive
• is spiking
  progressive
• have been spiking
  perfect progressive
• has been spiking
  perfect progressive

Past

• spiked
  simple
• had spiked
  perfect
• was spiking
  progressive
• were spiking
  progressive
• had been spiking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will spike
  simple
• will have spiked
  perfect
• will be spiking
  progressive
• will have been spiking
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of spike¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English noun spik(e), from Old Norse spīkr “nail”; akin to Old Norse spīk “splinter,” Middle Low German spīker “nail”

Origin of spike²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English spik(e), spika, probably special use of spike ¹, influenced by Latin spīca “ear of grain”

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Explanation

A spike is a sharp point, often made of metal or wood, but not always. Hedgehogs have long skinny spikes that keep them from being eaten by predators. The wide metal nails that fasten railroad ties to rails are called "rail spikes." A spike can be big like those rail spikes, or small like the ones on the bottom of a cleat. And, extremely high-heeled shoes are sometimes called "spike heels." When something increases and abruptly decreases, like the price of sugar or a fever, it spikes. To spike a volleyball, smash it over the net. Spike shares a root with the Latin spina, for "spine or thorn."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spike spikes spiked spiking

Although high gasoline and diesel prices drove about half of the September spike in inflation, "it's starting to spill into other areas," warned Heather Long, chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

It is in triple time, three strokes to a spike.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

The UK's data watchdog is investigating a spike in complaints about "robo calls" - where a recorded voice asks you to add them on WhatsApp - that are suspected to lead to a recruitment scam.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Even without the federal subsidies, the used EV market has been brisk — thanks largely to the spike in gas prices, as my colleague Caroline Petrow-Cohen has reported.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

He threw back his head and howled at the moon just as the redhead appeared on the Club House porch, her spike heels clicking.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

The fires have created severe haze locally, with tens of thousands of cases of respiratory illnesses, and also caused regional air pollution spikes in Singapore and Malaysia.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

When the VIX spikes above 30, that has historically been the kind of environment where long-term investors should start looking for opportunities rather than running for cover.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

“It’s no surprise that at the end of the quarter, there’s spikes one way or another because people want to look good, people want to hedge their losses,” Lescure said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

And yet, despite a crisis of power outages, severe fuel shortages and dramatic price spikes, life in Cuba goes on.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

In fact, Sparrow, sinking her hand into the soil and concentrating for a moment, grew some spikes of purple liriope tall enough to screen them from sight.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Singapore's air pollution spiked at 236 on IQAir's Air Quality Index level into very unhealthy levels at around 0230 GMT on Friday.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Then, in an 0-and-2 count to Ozzie Albies, Glasnow spiked a curveball in front of the plate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Investors in Asia followed the positive lead from their colleagues on Wall Street, where all three main indexes spiked in reaction to the highly anticipated non-farm payrolls data.

From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026

The French-German 10-year bond spread stood at 146.30 basis points, having spiked on Friday to a near 15-year high of 158.67 basis points.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

It looked like it had spiked hair—a little punk rock bird.

From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez

DWP says its recent high bills are driven by spiking power use during the record-breaking summer heat, especially for air conditioning, not by rate increases.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

This week: The bond market continues to churn with yields spiking globally.

From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2026

Despite higher bond yields and spiking energy prices, there’s still a case for keeping your equities, according to Barclays.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

Prices are certainly going up, as Apple has already flagged, due to spiking costs for memory and storage chips that are inside each device.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

The water pressure wavered, its temperature spiking as someone in the next room over flushed the toilet.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

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