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, adjectiveWords nearby spike
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.