(~s)
1.
A ~ is a long piece of metal with a sharp point.
...a 15-foot wall topped with iron ~s...
Yellowing receipts had been impaled on a metal ~.
N-COUNT
2.
Any long pointed object can be referred to as a ~.
Her hair stood out in ~s.
...a long ~ of white flowers.
N-COUNT: usu with supp
3.
If there is a ~ in the price, volume, or amount of something, the price, volume, or amount of it suddenly increases.
Although you’d think business would have boomed during the war, there was only a small ~ in interest.
N-COUNT: oft N in n
4.
Spikes are a pair of sports shoes with pointed pieces of metal attached to the soles. They help runners’ feet to grip the ground when they are running.
N-PLURAL: also a pair of n
5.
see also ~d