I. ˈspīk noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English spike, spik, probably from Middle Dutch spike; akin to Middle Low German spīker spike, Old Norse spīk splinter, Lithuanian speigliaĩ thorns, Latin spina thorn — more at spine
1.
a. : a very large nail ; specifically : one three or more inches long and often of square section (as a barge spike)
b. : a similar fastener used on railroads for securing rails to ties
2. : a pointed piece of metal set with the point upward or outward : a pointed metal projection: as
a. : one of a row of pointed irons placed (as on the top of a wall) to prevent passage
b. : one of several metal projections set in the sole and heel of a shoe to improve traction (as in logging, baseball, track and field, golf) and made in varying size, shape, and number for different activities — compare calk , cleat , climbing iron
c. : a needlelike steel spindle set upright in a base and used for temporary filing of papers (as restaurant bills, rejected newspaper copy)
3. : something suggesting a spike (as in tapering to a point): as
a. : a young mackerel not over six inches long
b. : an unbranched antler of a young deer
c. : a backward projection on the rose comb of a fowl
4. Britain : a rigid adherent of high church dogma or ritual
5. : spike disease
6.
a. : spike heel
b. : a spike-heeled shoe
7. spikes plural : a pair of shoes having spikes attached
8.
[ spike (II) ]
: the act or an instance of spiking a volleyball — see setup
9.
a. : the pointed element in a graph or tracing: as
(1) : the sharp up-and-down deflections on a fever chart indicating high and low temperature levels
had a fever with spikes to 102° F
(2) : the pointed element in an electroencephalogram wave
the spike and dome pattern representing the discharges characteristic of petit mal epilepsy
b. : an unusually high and sharply defined maximum (as of amplitude in a wave train)
10. slang : hypodermic needle
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. : to fasten or fix with spikes
all the track he owned had been laid and spiked — Bill Collins
2.
a.
(1) : to disable (a muzzle-loading cannon) temporarily by driving a spike into the vent
(2) : to disable (a modern breech-loading cannon) by breaking or carrying away part of the breech mechanism
b. : to put an end to : suppress or cut off completely : quash
spike the minority proposal and present one of their own
spike the rumor by publishing a full account of the affair
3.
a. : to pierce or impale with or on a spike
spike an enemy with a bayonet
specifically : injure with the spikes on one's shoes
in sliding the runner spiked the second baseman
b. : to reject (newspaper copy) by or as if by impalement on a spike
the correspondent may wonder why his piece was spiked in favor of an item about the weather — Anthony Wigan
4. : to set or furnish with spikes
spike the bottoms of his climbing shoes
5.
a. : to add alcohol or strong spirituous liquor to (beer or a nonalcoholic beverage)
Frenchmen, accustomed to spiking coffee with cognac — Newsweek
b. : to increase the effect, interest, or attractiveness of : add strength or pungency to
lighten the discussion by spiking it with dry humor
geranium-pink spikes this kitchen and matches the flowers — Kay Hardy
6. : to drive (a volleyball) into the opponents' court at a sharp angle with a hard downward blow delivered from a front line position — compare kill vt 8
intransitive verb
1. : to form a spike : project like a spike
docks which spike outward from the eastern fringe of the city — E.K.Gann
2. : to alternate sharply high points and low points in temperature as shown on a fever chart
•
- spike one's guns
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English spik head (of grain), from Latin spica head (of grain), tuft (of a plant); akin to Dutch spie peg, pin, Latin spina thorn — more at spine
1. : an ear of grain
2. : an elongated indeterminate inflorescence similar to a raceme but having the flowers sessile on the main axis (as in common plantain) — see inflorescence illustration
IV.
dialect England
variant of 2 spick
V. noun
1. : a momentary sharp increase and fall in electric potential
voltage spikes
also : action potential herein
2. : an abrupt sharp increase (as in prices or rates)
VI. transitive verb
: to undergo a sudden sharp increase in (temperature or fever)
the patient spiked a fever of 103°