- a naillike fastener, 3 to 12 inches (7.6 to 30.5 centimeters) long and proportionately thicker than a common nail, for fastening together heavy timbers or railroad track.
- something resembling such a nail; a stiff, sharp-pointed piece or part: to set spikes in the top of a cement wall.
- a sharp-pointed piece of metal set with the point outward, as on a weapon.
- an abrupt increase or rise: a chart showing a spike of unusual activity in the stock market; a sudden spike of electrical current.
- 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.
- a pair of shoes having such projections.
- the unbranched antler of a young deer.
- a flower stalk.
- a pointed portion of a continuous curve or graph, usually rising above the adjacent portion: a spike in the value of the voltage.
- a hard smash, hit close to the net, almost straight down into the opponent's court.
- a hypodermic needle.
- to fasten or secure with a spike or spikes.
- to provide or set with a spike or spikes.
- to pierce with or impale on a spike.
- to set or stud with something suggesting spikes.
- to injure (another player or a competitor) with the spikes of one's shoe, as in baseball.
- 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.
- to slam (the ball) to the ground in the end zone, after scoring a touchdown.
- to render (a muzzle-loading gun) useless by driving a spike into the touchhole.
- to make ineffective; frustrate or thwart: to spike a rumor; to spike someone's chances for promotion.
- Informal.
- to add alcoholic liquor to (a drink).
- to add (a chemical, poison, or other substance) to: The cocoa was spiked with cyanide.
- to refuse (a story) by or as if by placing on a spindle.
- to rise or increase sharply (often followed by up): Interest rates spiked up last week.
- an ear, as of wheat or other grain.
- an inflorescence in which the flowers are without a stalk, or apparently so, along an elongated, unbranched axis.
- a sharp point
- any sharp-pointed object, esp one made of metal
- a long metal nail
- physics
- a transient variation in voltage or current in an electric circuit
- a graphical recording of this, such as one of the peaks on an electroencephalogram
- shoes with metal projections on the sole and heel for greater traction, as used by athletes
- the straight unbranched antler of a young deer
- British slang another word for dosshouse
- to secure or supply with or as with spikes
- to render ineffective or block the intentions of; thwart
- to impale on a spike
- to add alcohol to (a drink)
- to reject (a news story)
- to hit (a ball) sharply downwards with an overarm motion from the front of one's own court into the opposing court
- (formerly) to render (a cannon) ineffective by blocking its vent with a spike
- to thwart someone's purpose
- 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