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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

The usual method is to mike the principals and lay in group effects in post.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 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

Padres broadcasters Don Orsillo and Mark Grant, who had red mike flags with a white “B” for the May 30 game, switched to MLB logos the next day.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 19, 2023

Collins’ video captured it exactly, he said: like someone had grabbed the flight attendants’ mike, collapsed at the front of the galley and was just “incapacitated by a severe gastrointestinal problem, and is just moaning.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2022

“Ready, Chico, rat,” 1 said into my headset mike.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli

In 1986, he earned one of 10 Golden Mike Awards for his coverage of the Cerritos air disaster.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

Vance putting out a surprisingly candid assessment of the Republican Party’s losses, while House Speaker Mike Johnson publicly acknowledged that the party had lost control of the House.

From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2026

Mike Novogratz, the billionaire CEO of the crypto business Galaxy Digital, can afford the high life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

US House Speaker Mike Johnson will step down as Republican leader following his party's crushing midterm election defeat, his spokesman confirmed to AFP Wednesday.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

His superiors sent him to a psychiatrist, who diagnosed Mike Burry as bipolar.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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

For a key scene captured in a single take between Tár and a student in a lecture hall, Winke miked the actors and hid a microphone in the piano.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2022

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

Fliakos’s miking, gives his voice a slightly disembodied quality.

From New York Times ● Oct. 13, 2019

“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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