spike

Plural: spikes

Noun

• a transient variation in voltage or current
• sports equipment consisting of a sharp point on the sole of a shoe worn by athletes
  • "spikes provide greater traction"
• fruiting spike of a cereal plant especially corn
• (botany) an indeterminate inflorescence bearing sessile flowers on an unbranched axis
• a sharp rise followed by a sharp decline
  • "the seismograph showed a sharp spike in response to the temblor"
• a very high narrow heel on women's shoes
• each of the sharp points on the soles of athletic shoes to prevent slipping (or the shoes themselves)
  • "the second baseman sharpened his spikes before every game"
  • "golfers' spikes damage the putting greens"
• a sharp-pointed projection along the top of a fence or wall (or a dinosaur)
• a long, thin sharp-pointed implement (wood or metal)
  • "one of the spikes impaled him"
• any holding device consisting of a rigid, sharp-pointed object
  • "the spike pierced the receipts and held them in order"
• a large stout nail
  • "they used spikes to fasten the rails to a railroad tie"
• A sort of very large nail.
• A piece of pointed metal etc. set with points upward or outward.
• Anything resembling such a nail in shape.
• An ear of corn or grain.
• A kind of inflorescence in which sessile flowers are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis.
• A running shoe with spikes in the sole to provide grip.
• A sharp peak in a graph.
• A surge in power or in the price of a commodity, etc.; any sudden and brief change that would be represented by a sharp peak on a graph.
• The rod-like protrusion from a woman's high-heeled shoe that elevates the heel.
• A long nail for storing papers by skewering them; (by extension) the metaphorical place where rejected newspaper articles are sent.
• An attack from, usually, above the height of the net performed with the intent to send the ball straight to the floor of the opponent or off the hands of the opposing block.
• An adolescent male deer.
• The casual ward of a workhouse.
• Spike lavender.
• Synonym of endpin.
• A mark indicating where a prop or other item should be placed on stage.
• A small project that uses the simplest possible program to explore potential solutions.
• An excessively high church Anglican.

Verb

Verb Forms: spiked, spiking, spikes

• To fasten with a spike; to pierce; to secretly add something.
• stand in the way of
• pierce with a sharp stake or point
• secure with spikes
• bring forth a spike or spikes
• add alcohol to (beverages)
  • "the punch is spiked!"
• manifest a sharp increase
  • "the voltage spiked"
• To fasten with spikes, or long, large nails.
• To set or furnish with spikes.
• To embed nails into (a tree) so that any attempt to cut it down will damage equipment or injure people.
• To fix on a spike.
• To discard; to decide not to publish or make public.
• To increase sharply.
• To add alcohol or a drug into a drink, especially if covertly.
• To add a small amount of one substance to another.
• To attack from, usually, above the height of the net with the intent to send the ball straight to the floor of the opponent or off the hands of the opposing block.
• To render (a gun) unusable by driving a metal spike into its touch hole.
• To slam the football to the ground, usually in celebration of scoring a touchdown, or to stop expiring time on the game clock after snapping the ball as to save time for the losing team to attempt to score the tying or winning points.
• To inject a drug with a syringe.

Examples

• He managed to SPIKE his opponent’s strategy by blocking their key triple-word score.
• oil of spike
• She spiked my lemonade with vodka!
• The trap was lined with spikes.
• The water sample to be tested has been spiked with arsenic, antimony, mercury, and lead in quantities commonly found in industrial effluents.
• to spike down planks
• to spike the football
• Traffic accidents spiked in December when there was ice on the roads.

Synonyms

capitulum, ear, empale, fortify, impale, lace, spike heel, spike out, spindle, stiletto heel, transfix, Irish up, attack, endpin, hit

Anagrams of spike