spike definition | Dictionary.com

spike

1 [spahyk]

noun, verb, spiked, spik⋅ing.

–noun

1.	a naillike fastener, 3 to 12 in. (7.6 to 30.5 cm) long and proportionately thicker than a common nail, for fastening together heavy timbers or railroad track.

2.	something resembling such a nail; a stiff, sharp-pointed piece or part: to set spikes in the top of a cement wall.

3.	a sharp-pointed piece of metal set with the point outward, as on a weapon.

4.	an abrupt increase or rise: a chart showing a spike of unusual activity in the stock market; a sudden spike of electrical current.

5.	a rectangular or naillike metal projection on the heel and sole of a shoe for improving traction, as of a baseball player or a runner.

6.	spikes, a pair of shoes having such projections.

7.	the unbranched antler of a young deer.

8.	Botany. a flower stalk.

9.	a pointed portion of a continuous curve or graph, usually rising above the adjacent portion: a spike in the value of the voltage.

10.	Volleyball. a hard smash, hit close to the net, almost straight down into the opponent's court.

11.	Slang. a hypodermic needle.

–verb (used with object)

12.	to fasten or secure with a spike or spikes.

13.	to provide or set with a spike or spikes.

14.	to pierce with or impale on a spike.

15.	to set or stud with something suggesting spikes.

16.	to injure (another player or a competitor) with the spikes of one's shoe, as in baseball.

17.	Volleyball. to hit (a ball in the air) with a powerful, overarm motion from a position close to the net so as to cause it to travel almost straight down into the court of the opponents.

18.	Football. to slam (the ball) to the ground in the end zone, after scoring a touchdown.

19.	to render (a muzzle-loading gun) useless by driving a spike into the touchhole.

20.	to make ineffective; frustrate or thwart: to spike a rumor; to spike someone's chances for promotion.

21.

Informal.

a.	to add alcoholic liquor to (a drink).

b.	to add (a chemical, poison, or other substance) to: The cocoa was spiked with cyanide.

22.	Journalism Slang. to refuse (a story) by or as if by placing on a spindle.

–verb (used without object)

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

—Idiom

24.	spike someone's guns. gun ¹ (def. 15).

Origin:
1300–50; ME spik(e) (n.) < ON spīkr nail; akin to ON spīk, MLG spīker nail

Related forms:

spikelike, adjective

spike

2 [spahyk]

–noun

1.	an ear, as of wheat or other grain.

2.	Botany. an inflorescence in which the flowers are without a stalk, or apparently so, along an elongated, unbranched axis.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME; prob. special use of spike ¹ , influenced by L spīca ear of grain

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To spike

spike¹ (spīk)

1. A long, thick, sharp-pointed piece of wood or metal.
2. A heavy nail.
3. A sharp-pointed projection along the top of a fence or wall.
4. A thin, sharp-pointed vertical rod for impaling papers; a spindle.
5. A thorn or spine.
6. A tuft of hair waxed or twisted so as to project in a stiff point.
7. Slang A hypodermic needle.
8. One of several sharp metal projections set in the sole or in the sole and heel of an athletic shoe for grip.
9. spikes A pair of athletic shoes having such projections.
10. A sharp rise followed by a sharp decline in a graph or in the tracing of a scientific instrument.
11. A sharp momentary increase in voltage or electric current.
12. A sudden steep increase in prices.
13. Sports The act of driving a volleyball at a sharp angle into the opponent's court by jumping near the net and hitting the ball down hard from above.
14. Football The act of slamming the ball to the ground after succeeding in an important play, as after scoring a touchdown.
A spikelike part or projection, as:
1. A sharp-pointed projection along the top of a fence or wall.
2. A thin, sharp-pointed vertical rod for impaling papers; a spindle.
3. A thorn or spine.
4. A tuft of hair waxed or twisted so as to project in a stiff point.
5. Slang A hypodermic needle.
6. One of several sharp metal projections set in the sole or in the sole and heel of an athletic shoe for grip.
7. spikes A pair of athletic shoes having such projections.
8. A sharp rise followed by a sharp decline in a graph or in the tracing of a scientific instrument.
9. A sharp momentary increase in voltage or electric current.
10. A sudden steep increase in prices.
11. Sports The act of driving a volleyball at a sharp angle into the opponent's court by jumping near the net and hitting the ball down hard from above.
12. Football The act of slamming the ball to the ground after succeeding in an important play, as after scoring a touchdown.
1. One of several sharp metal projections set in the sole or in the sole and heel of an athletic shoe for grip.
2. spikes A pair of athletic shoes having such projections.
3. A sharp rise followed by a sharp decline in a graph or in the tracing of a scientific instrument.
4. A sharp momentary increase in voltage or electric current.
5. A sudden steep increase in prices.
6. Sports The act of driving a volleyball at a sharp angle into the opponent's court by jumping near the net and hitting the ball down hard from above.
7. Football The act of slamming the ball to the ground after succeeding in an important play, as after scoring a touchdown.
spikes A pair of spike heels.
An unbranched antler of a young deer.
A young mackerel of small size, usually 15 centimeters (6 inches) or less in length.
1. A sharp rise followed by a sharp decline in a graph or in the tracing of a scientific instrument.
2. A sharp momentary increase in voltage or electric current.
3. A sudden steep increase in prices.
4. Sports The act of driving a volleyball at a sharp angle into the opponent's court by jumping near the net and hitting the ball down hard from above.
5. Football The act of slamming the ball to the ground after succeeding in an important play, as after scoring a touchdown.
1. Sports The act of driving a volleyball at a sharp angle into the opponent's court by jumping near the net and hitting the ball down hard from above.
2. Football The act of slamming the ball to the ground after succeeding in an important play, as after scoring a touchdown.

tr.v. spiked, spik·ing, spikes

1. To secure or provide with a spike.
2. To shape into spikes.
3. To add alcoholic liquor to: spiked the punch with rum.
4. To add a poison or other chemical to: a drink spiked with barbituates.
5. To add flavor or spice to: "several herb vinegars, including one . . . spiked with colorful chive blossoms" (New England Living).
6. To add excitement or vitality to: spiked the speech with many jokes.
7. Sports To hit (a volleyball) in a spike.
8. Football To throw (the ball) down in a spike.
To impale, pierce, or injure with a spike.
To injure with spiked shoes, especially when sliding in baseball.
To put an end to; terminate: spike a rumor.
Informal
1. To add alcoholic liquor to: spiked the punch with rum.
2. To add a poison or other chemical to: a drink spiked with barbituates.
3. To add flavor or spice to: "several herb vinegars, including one . . . spiked with colorful chive blossoms" (New England Living).
4. To add excitement or vitality to: spiked the speech with many jokes.
5. Sports To hit (a volleyball) in a spike.
6. Football To throw (the ball) down in a spike.
1. Sports To hit (a volleyball) in a spike.
2. Football To throw (the ball) down in a spike.
To render (a muzzleloading gun) useless by driving a spike into the vent.
To manifest (a sharp increase in body temperature): spike a high fever.

[Middle English, from Old Norse spīk.]
spik'er n.

spike² (spīk)

An ear of grain, as of wheat.
Botany A usually elongated, unbranched inflorescence with stalkless flowers arranged along an axis.

[Middle English, from Latin spīca.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.]

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.

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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : spike

Spanish: punta, pincho,

German: die Spitze,

Japanese: 大くぎ

More Translations »

spike

v. To defeat a selection mechanism by introducing a (sometimes temporary) device that forces a specific result. The word is used in several industries; telephone engineers refer to spiking a relay by inserting a pin to hold the relay in either the closed or open state, and railroaders refer to spiking a track switch so that it cannot be moved. In programming environments it normally refers to a temporary change, usually for testing purposes (as opposed to a permanent change, which would be called hardwired).

Jargon File 4.2.0
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spike (v.)

1624, "to fasten with spikes," see spike (n.1). Meaning "To rise in a spike" is from 1958. Military sense (1687) means "to disable guns by driving a big nail into the touch-hole." Fig. use of this sense is from 1823. Meaning "to lace (a drink) with liquor" is from 1889. Journalism sense of "to kill a story before publication" (1908) is from the metal spindle in which old-time editors filed hard copy of stories after they were set in type, or especially when rejected for publication.

spike (n.1)

"large nail," 1345, probably from O.N. spik "splinter" (related to O.E. spicing "large nail"), from P.Gmc. *spikaz (cf. M.Du. spicher, Du. spijker "nail," O.E. spaca, O.H.G. speihha "spoke"), from PIE base *spei- "sharp point" (cf. L. spica "ear of corn," spina "thorn, prickle, backbone," pinna "pin;" Gk. spilas "rock, cliff;" Lett. spile "wooden fork;" Lith. speigliai "thorns," spitna "tongue of a buckle," O.E. spitu "spit"). But based on gender difficulties in the Gmc. words, OED casts doubt on this whole derivation and says the Eng. word may be a borrowing of L. spica (see spike (n.2)), from the same root. Slang meaning "needle" is from 1923. Meaning "pointed stud in athletic shoes" is from 1832. Electrical sense of "pulse of short duration" is from 1935.

spike (n.2)

"ear of grain," 1393, from L. spica "ear of grain," related to spina "thorn" (see spike (n.1)).

Spike

1) The comparatively large upward or downward movement of a price or value level in a short period.

2) The trade order execution confirmation slip which shows all the pertinent data, such as the stock symbol, price, type and trading account information.

Investopedia Commentary

1) A good example of a negative spike in the financial markets is the infamous stock market crash of Oct 19, 1987, when the DJIA plunged 22% in a single day. There are plenty of more common, less drastic examples which are periodically seen in individual stocks when unexpected news or events, such as better-than-expected earnings results, reaches investors.

2) This usage originates from the antiquated practice of placing paper trade order slips on a metal spike upon completion.

Also spelled: spikes, spiking

spike

A sudden, short-term change in the price of a security that just as suddenly returns close to its previous level. For example, a stock that has consistently traded in a $10 to $12 per share range may suddenly move to a price of $14 and then return to $12. The sudden rise to the $14 price is a spike.

Main Entry: ¹spike
Pronunciation: 'spIk
Function: noun
: a change (as in voltage) involving a sharp increase and fall or a recording of this: as a : the pointed element in the wave tracing in an electroencephalogram spike and dome pattern representing the discharges characteristic of petit mal epilepsy> b : a sharp increase in body temperature followed by a rapid fall spikes to 103°> c (1) : the sharp increase and fall in therecorded action potential of a stimulated nerve cell that during the increasing phase corresponds to an inrush of sodium ions to the interior of the cell and during the decreasing phase corresponds toa slowing of the influx of sodium ions and to an increasing efflux of potassium ions to the exterior (2) : ACTIONPOTENTIAL

Main Entry: ²spike
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: spiked; spik·ing
: to undergo a sudden sharp increase in (temperature orfever) usually up to an indicated level spiked fevers as high as 105°F>

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.

spike (spīk) Pronunciation Key
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.

spike jargon
To defeat a selection mechanism by introducing a (sometimes temporary) device that forces a specific result. The word is used in several industries; telephone engineers refer to spiking a relay by inserting a pin to hold the relay in either the closed or open state, and railroaders refer to spiking a track switch so that it cannot be moved. In programming environments it normally refers to a temporary change, usually for testing purposes (as opposed to a permanent change, which would be called hard-coded).
(1999-10-18)

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