spike

1
[ spahyk ]
/ spaɪk /

noun

verb (used with object), spiked, spik·ing.

verb (used without object), spiked, spik·ing.

to rise or increase sharply (often followed by up): Interest rates spiked up last week.

Idioms for spike

    spike someone's guns. gun1(def 16).

Origin of spike

1
1300–50; Middle English spik(e) (noun) < Old Norse spīkr nail; akin to Old Norse spīk, Middle Low German spīker nail

OTHER WORDS FROM spike

spike·like, adjective

Definition for spike (2 of 2)

spike 2
[ spahyk ]
/ spaɪk /

noun

an ear, as of wheat or other grain.
Botany. an inflorescence in which the flowers are without a stalk, or apparently so, along an elongated, unbranched axis.

Origin of spike

2
1350–1400; Middle English; probably special use of spike1, influenced by Latin spīca ear of grain

Example sentences from the Web for spike

British Dictionary definitions for spike (1 of 2)

spike 1
/ (spaɪk) /

noun

verb (mainly tr)

Word Origin for spike

C13 spyk; related to Old English spīcing nail, Old Norse spīk splinter, Middle Low German spīker spike, Norwegian spīk spoke ², Latin spīca sharp point; see spike ²

British Dictionary definitions for spike (2 of 2)

spike 2
/ (spaɪk) /

noun botany

an inflorescence consisting of a raceme of sessile flowers, as in the gladiolus and sedges
an ear of wheat, barley, or any other grass that has sessile spikelets

Word Origin for spike

C14: from Latin spīca ear of corn

Medical definitions for spike

spike
[ spīk ]

n.

A brief electrical event of 3 to 25 milliseconds that gives the appearance in the electroencephalogram of a rising and falling vertical line.

Scientific definitions for spike

spike
[ spīk ]

An elongated indeterminate inflorescence in which the flowers are attached directly to a common stem, rather than borne on individual stalks arising from the stem. The gladiolus produces spikes. The distinctive spikes of grasses such as wheat or barley are known as spikelets. See illustration at inflorescence.