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• pike
  pike

  noun

  any of several large, slender, voracious freshwater fishes of the genus Esox, having a long, flat snout.
• Pike
  Pike

  noun

  James Albert, 1913–69, U.S. Protestant Episcopal clergyman, lawyer, and author.

pike

¹ American  

[pahyk] / paɪk /

noun

• pike,
  plural
• pikes
  plural

1. any of several large, slender, voracious freshwater fishes of the genus Esox, having a long, flat snout.

2. any of various superficially similar fishes, as the walleye or pikeperch.

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pike ² American  

[pahyk] / paɪk /

noun

1. a shafted weapon having a pointed head, formerly used by infantry.

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verb (used with object)

piked, piking

1. to pierce, wound, or kill with or as with a pike.

pike ³ American  

[pahyk] / paɪk /

noun

1. a toll road or highway; turnpike.

2. a tollgate on a turnpike.

3. the toll paid at a tollgate.

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idioms

1. come down the pike, to appear or come forth.

   the greatest idea that ever came down the pike.

pike ⁴ American  

[pahyk] / paɪk /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. a hill or mountain with a pointed summit.

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pike ⁵ American  

[pahyk] / paɪk /

noun

1. a sharply pointed projection or spike.

2. the pointed end of anything, as of an arrow or a spear.

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pike ⁶ American  

[pahyk] / paɪk /

verb (used without object)

Older Slang.

piked, piking

1. to go, leave, or move along quickly.

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pike ⁷ American  

[pahyk] / paɪk /

noun

Diving, Gymnastics.

1. a body position, resembling a V shape, in which the back and head are bent forward and the legs lifted and held together, with the hands touching the feet or backs of the knees or the arms extended sideways.

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Pike ⁸ American  

[pahyk] / paɪk /

noun

1. James Albert, 1913–69, U.S. Protestant Episcopal clergyman, lawyer, and author.

2. Zebulon Montgomery 1779–1813, U.S. general and explorer.

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pike ¹ British  

/ paɪk /

noun

1. a medieval weapon consisting of an iron or steel spearhead joined to a long pole, the pikestaff

2. a point or spike

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verb

1. (tr) to stab or pierce using a pike

pike ² British  

/ paɪk /

noun

1. any of several large predatory freshwater teleost fishes of the genus Esox, esp E. lucius ( northern pike ), having a broad flat snout, strong teeth, and an elongated body covered with small scales: family Esocidae

2. any of various similar fishes

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pike ³ British  

/ paɪk /

noun

1. short for turnpike

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pike ⁴ British  

/ paɪk /

noun

1. dialect a pointed or conical hill

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pike ⁵ British  

/ paɪk /

adjective

1. (of the body position of a diver) bent at the hips but with the legs straight

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pikelike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pike
  plural
• pikes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pike¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English; so called from its pointed snout ( see pike ⁵)

Origin of pike²

First recorded in 1505–15; from Middle French pique, feminine variant of pic “a pointed tool,” from Germanic. See pick ², pike ⁵, pique ¹

Origin of pike³

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30; short for turnpike

Origin of pike⁴

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; special use of pike ⁵; compare Old English hornpīc “pinnacle”

Origin of pike⁵

First recorded before 900; Middle English pik “pick, spike, (pilgrim's) staff,” Old English pīc “pointed tool”; see pick ²

Origin of pike⁶

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English pyke (intransitive); perhaps originally “to equip oneself with a walking stick”; see pike ⁵

Origin of pike⁷

First recorded in 1955–60; perhaps special use of pike ¹

Explanation

A pike was a long, spear-like weapon that infantry troops used in the medieval and Renaissance eras. Fighting with a pike while riding a horse required great balance. The difference between a pike and a spear is that a pike must be held with two hands in order to be thrust in the direction of an enemy fighter. The pointed end of a pike or spear is also known as a pike. It might seem confusing that a pike is also a type of freshwater fish, until you see the pike's sharp, pointed (pike-like) nose. In transportation, pike can refer to a highway. Finally, pike can mean a position in gymnastics or diving in which an athlete bends at the waist with toes pointed. The Old English root, piic, means "point."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pike Pike pikes piked piking

Firefighters responded, opened the rear end of the truck and used pike poles to remove the garbage by hand, according to Samuel Menchaca, a public information officer with the San Francisco Fire Department.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

She said she and other residents had noticed dead pike, carp, roach, eel, rudd and dace.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

But if it’s part of a larger pattern of opacity, instability and conflicting messaging, something larger might be coming down the pike.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 12, 2026

Even if it was a pretty incredible northern pike, his first.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026

A pike of unprecedented size had been caught in the Skahazadhan, and the fisherman wished to give it to the queen.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

In 2021 Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in prison and has been medicated since.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

Rosamund Pike called out an audience member for texting during an emotional moment from her performance in West End play Inter Alia earlier this year, saying: "When I feel that and see it, it's hard."

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

“We have multiple hikes priced in,” said Scott Pike, a senior portfolio manager at Income Research + Management.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 13, 2026

Ms. Pike, who won an Olivier Award for the role, plays a judge who finds her principles, her personal life and her faith in the British legal system in conflict.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Agents demanded, through the intermediary, that Pike come forward.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

Arriving in the Tibetan quarter of Chengdu, where tens of thousands of Tibetans live under the state’s watchful gaze, officers with pikes and batons stand sentry while police lights flash red and blue.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2022

At different moments since then, his pikes have symbolized a demented terrorist’s scheme for mass murder, a religious fanatic’s fiery crusade and a hero’s lonely struggle for justice.

From New York Times ● Jan. 6, 2022

The store, in the Baileys Crossroads area, is northwest of the Skyline Towers development and southeast of the intersection of Leesburg and Columbia pikes.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 20, 2021

But avoiding pain is not always possible as elite divers perform a dizzying array of pikes, tucks and somersaults.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2021

I saw, in sharp, ink-black silhouette against the sky, turrets and pikes, a widow’s walk.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Here’s what happened: First, my stomach sank as the Russian Olympic Committee’s normally-stunning Nikita Nagornyy debuted his triple back piked salto—only to almost sit down the landing and stumble out of bounds multiple times.

From Slate ● Aug. 1, 2021

And whether she gets the piked Arabian on beam named after her, or makes it back to Worlds or even the Olympics, she doesn’t expect medals to be her comeback legacy.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 27, 2020

The 'firework' 3.5 somersault with one twist routine replaces what had become known as his 'demon' dive - a piked 2.5 somersault, 2.5 twist routine - which Taylor actually invented.

From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2015

She soared so high on her first release, flipping herself up and back over the bar, her legs piked, that she could have reached out and touched her toes before grabbing the bar.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 9, 2012

Peter dug his crutches into the turf and piked hard.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

When the family kicked me out for marrying the finest girl that ever lived, my father cut me off with a piking allowance which I told him to put in the church plate.

From The Third Degree A Narrative of Metropolitan Life by Charles Klein

I don't want anybody up here piking around just because I took a double header into space.

From Tom Slade at Black Lake by Howard L. (Howard Livingston) Hastings

Last seen she was piking off after Miss Busy Buzzy.

From Marjorie Dean College Freshman by Pauline Lester

"This time last spring," Bill said to her, "I was piking away north of those mountains, bound for the head of the Naas to prospect for gold."

From North of Fifty-Three by Anton Otto Fischer

I say, Rube, let's you and I be piking it for the college.

From Over the Line by Harold Morrow Sherman