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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

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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

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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

Lucy Galvin, the city council leader, said she and other residents had noticed dead pike, carp, roach, eel, rudd and dace.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

Similarly, pike have a well-developed lateral-line sensory system that allows them to sense vibration, movement and pressure changes in the water.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 21, 2026

“The market is thinking there’s a lot more downside coming down the pike than upside on inflation,” Skyler Weinand, chief investment officer of Regan Capital, said in a phone interview.

From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026

The fish course was next, but as the pike was being boned Lady Alys dragged the Magnar up onto the floor.

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

SoftBank took a $3.7 billion write-down as a subsidiary investing in infrastructure for AI data center projects in the U.S., including one in Pike County, Ohio, revised its procurement strategy.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026

Pike was rushed to a local hospital, where she was intubated on a ventilator and eventually discharged.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Pike is the only inmate to ever survive after being injected with lethal doses of execution drugs, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026

Pike is thought to be the only person to have survived an execution attempt by lethal injection.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Even the promise of free stories and a chance at a silver talent wasn’t worth stirring things up with Pike again.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

She added: “Probably done 100 Yurchenko double pikes, and the first one and then the last one I’ve done, they all feel the same — scary.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2024

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

It makes as much sense as arming our soldiers with crossbows and pikes.

From New York Times ● Dec. 11, 2018

Before every event, players serving as “reeves” — a sort of referee — conduct a weapons check to make sure the swords, pikes, arrows and other implements comply with strict safety requirements.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2018

But you remember, he ordered pikes for his men, spears, for the love of God.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

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

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

On bars, Douglas demonstrated why she is nicknamed The Flying Squirrel with the height of her piked Tkatchevs and double straight dismount and the US left no room for error on beam or floor either.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 29, 2012

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

Last seen she was piking off after Miss Busy Buzzy.

From Marjorie Dean College Freshman by Pauline Lester

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

From Over the Line by Harold Morrow Sherman

"All you got to do is keep your eyes peeled, and you'll see us piking in here right on the dot," laughed Tom.

From Bert Wilson on the Gridiron by J. W. Duffield

Yes, and this winter I've got a trip planned out that will make all the others look piking.

From Connie Morgan in the Fur Country by James B. (James Beardsley) Hendryx

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