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mike

1 American  
[mahyk] / maɪk /

noun

  1. Informal. Also microphone.

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.

mike 3 American  
[mahyk] / maɪk /

noun

  1. loafing; idling.

verb (used without object)

miked, miking

  1. to loaf.

mike 4 American  
[mahyk] / maɪk /

noun

  1. micrometer.

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.

Mike 1 British  
/ maɪk /

noun

  1. communications a code word for the letter m

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
mike 2 British  
/ maɪk /

noun

  1. informal short for microphone See also mike up

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

When one performer delivered a few lines in a deafening shout, she said, “Remember ... if you are screaming, pull that mike away.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2025

“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

“The mike ‘backer, I see it as the quarterback role on the defense.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2022

When things had setded again he pulled at the mike cord once more and at last jerked the cord free.

From "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.