Adjacent Words

Spike definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SPIKE, n. [L. L. spica, and ear of corn. It signifies a shoot or point.]
1. A large uail; always in American applied to a nail or pin of metal. A similar thing made of word is called a peg or pin. In England, it is sometimes used for a sharp point of wood.
2. An ear of corn or grain. It is applied to the heads of wheat, rye and barley; and is particularly applicable to the ears of maiz.
3. A shoot.
4. [L. spica.] In botany, a species of inflorescence, in which sessile flowers are alternate on a common simple peduncle, as in wheat and rye, lavender, etc.
SPIKE, n. A smaller species of lavender.
SPIKE, v.t.
1. To fasten with spikes or long and large nails; as, to spike down the planks of a floor or bridge.
2. To set with spikes. A youth leaping over the spiked pales-was caught by the spikes. [Unusual.]
3. To stop the vent with spikes; as, to spike cannon.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a transient variation in voltage or current
2: sports equipment consisting of a sharp point on the sole of a shoe worn by athletes; "spikes provide greater traction"
3: fruiting spike of a cereal plant especially corn [syn: ear, spike, capitulum]
4: (botany) an indeterminate inflorescence bearing sessile flowers on an unbranched axis
5: a sharp rise followed by a sharp decline; "the seismograph showed a sharp spike in response to the temblor"
6: a very high narrow heel on women's shoes [syn: spike heel, spike, stiletto heel]
7: 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"
8: a sharp-pointed projection along the top of a fence or wall (or a dinosaur)
9: a long, thin sharp-pointed implement (wood or metal); "one of the spikes impaled him"
10: any holding device consisting of a rigid, sharp-pointed object; "the spike pierced the receipts and held them in order" [syn: spike, spindle]
11: a large stout nail; "they used spikes to fasten the rails to a railroad tie" v
1: stand in the way of
2: pierce with a sharp stake or point; "impale a shrimp on a skewer" [syn: transfix, impale, empale, spike]
3: secure with spikes
4: bring forth a spike or spikes; "my hyacinths and orchids are spiking now" [syn: spike, spike out]
5: add alcohol to (beverages); "the punch is spiked!" [syn: spike, lace, fortify]
6: manifest a sharp increase; "the voltage spiked"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, probably from Old Norse sp?k splinter & sp?kr spike; akin to Middle Dutch spiker spike — more at spoke Date: 13th century 1. a very large nail 2. a. one of a row of pointed irons placed (as on the top of a wall) to prevent passage b. (1) one of several metal projections set in the sole and heel of a shoe to improve traction (2) plural a pair of shoes having spikes attached to the soles or soles and heels c. spindle 1e 3. something resembling a spike: as a. a young mackerel not over six inches (15.2 centimeters) long b. an unbranched antler of a young deer 4. plural spike heel 2 5. the act or an instance of spiking (as in volleyball) 6. a. a pointed element in a graph or tracing b. an unusually high and sharply defined maximum (as of amplitude in a wave train) 7. slang hypodermic needle 8. a momentary sharp increase and fall in electric potential; also action potential 9. an abrupt sharp increase (as in prices or rates) • spikelike adjective II. verb (spiked; spiking) Date: 1624 transitive verb 1. to fasten or furnish with spikes 2. a. to disable (a muzzle-loading cannon) temporarily by driving a spike into the vent b. to suppress or block completely <spiked the rumor> 3. a. to pierce or impale with or on a spike b. to reject (as a story) for publication or broadcast for editorial reasons 4. a. to add an alcoholic beverage to (a drink) <spiked the punch> b. to add a foreign substance to <spike the coffee with tranquilizers> c. to add something highly reactive (as a radioactive tracer) to d. to add vitality, zest, or spice to ; liven <spiked the speech with humor> <spike the broth with peppers> 5. to drive (as a volleyball) sharply downward with a hard blow; also to throw down sharply <spiked the ball in the end zone> 6. to undergo a sudden sharp increase in (temperature or fever) <the patient spiked a fever of 103°> intransitive verb to increase sharply <battery sales spiked after the storm> • spiker noun III. noun Etymology: Middle English spik, from Latin spica — more at spine Date: 14th century 1. an ear of grain 2. an elongated inflorescence similar to a raceme but having the flowers sessile on the main axis — see inflorescence illustration

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n. & v. --n. 1 a a sharp point. b a pointed piece of metal, esp. the top of an iron railing etc. 2 a any of several metal points set into the sole of a running-shoe to prevent slipping. b (in pl.) a pair of running-shoes with spikes. 3 a a pointed metal rod standing on a base and used for filing news items etc. esp. when rejected for publication. b a similar spike used for bills etc. 4 a large stout nail esp. as used for railways. 5 sl. a hypodermic needle. 6 Brit. sl. a doss-house. 7 Electronics a pulse of very short duration in which a rapid increase in voltage is followed by a rapid decrease. --v.tr. 1 a fasten or provide with spikes. b fix on or pierce with spikes. 2 (of a newspaper editor etc.) reject (a story) by filing it on a spike. 3 colloq. a lace (a drink) with alcohol, a drug, etc. b contaminate (a substance) with something added. 4 make useless, put an end to, thwart (an idea etc.). 5 hist. plug up the vent of (a gun) with a spike. Phrases and idioms: spike a person's guns spoil his or her plans. spike heel a high tapering heel of a shoe. Etymology: ME perh. f. MLG, MDu. spiker, rel. to SPOKE(1) 2. n. Bot. 1 a flower-cluster formed of many flower-heads attached closely on a long stem. 2 a separate sprig of any plant in which flowers form a spikelike cluster. Derivatives: spikelet n. Etymology: ME, = ear of corn, f. L SPICA

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Spike Spike, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spiked; p. pr. & vb. n. Spiking.] 1. To fasten with spikes, or long, large nails; as, to spike down planks. 2. To set or furnish with spikes. 3. To fix on a spike. [R.] --Young. 4. To stop the vent of (a gun or cannon) by driving a spike nail, or the like into it.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Spike Spike, n. [Akin to LG. spiker, spieker, a large nail, D. spijker, Sw. spik, Dan. spiger, Icel. sp[=i]k; all perhaps from L. spica a point, an ear of grain; but in the sense of nail more likely akin to E. spoke of a wheel. Cf. Spine.] 1. A sort of very large nail; also, a piece of pointed iron set with points upward or outward. 2. Anything resembling such a nail in shape. He wears on his head the corona radiata . . .; the spikes that shoot out represent the rays of the sun. --Addison. 3. An ear of corn or grain. 4. (Bot.) A kind of flower cluster in which sessile flowers are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis. Spike grass (Bot.), either of two tall perennial American grasses (Uniola paniculata, and U. latifolia) having broad leaves and large flattened spikelets. Spike rush. (Bot.) See under Rush. Spike shell (Zo["o]l.), any pteropod of the genus Styliola having a slender conical shell. Spike team, three horses, or a horse and a yoke of oxen, harnessed together, a horse leading the oxen or the span. [U.S.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Spike Spike, n. [Cf. G. spieke, L. spica an ear of grain. See Spikenard.] (Bot.) Spike lavender. See Lavender. Oil of spike (Chem.), a colorless or yellowish aromatic oil extracted from the European broad-leaved lavender, or aspic (Lavendula Spica), used in artist's varnish and in veterinary medicine. It is often adulterated with oil of turpentine, which it much resembles.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(spikes) 1. A spike is a long piece of metal with a sharp point. ...a 15-foot wall topped with iron spikes... Yellowing receipts had been impaled on a metal spike. N-COUNT 2. Any long pointed object can be referred to as a spike. Her hair stood out in spikes. ...a long spike of white flowers. N-COUNT: usu with supp 3. If there is a spike 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 spike 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 spiked

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Ear (of grain), head. 2. Large nail or pin.

Moby Thesaurus

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