Definitions for spike
spaɪkspike

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. spike(noun)

   a transient variation in voltage or current

2. spike(noun)

   sports equipment consisting of a sharp point on the sole of a shoe worn by athletes

   "spikes provide greater traction"

3. ear, spike, capitulum(noun)

   fruiting spike of a cereal plant especially corn

4. spike(noun)

   (botany) an indeterminate inflorescence bearing sessile flowers on an unbranched axis

5. spike(noun)

   a sharp rise followed by a sharp decline

   "the seismograph showed a sharp spike in response to the temblor"

6. spike heel, spike, stiletto heel(noun)

   a very high narrow heel on women's shoes

7. spike(noun)

   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. spike(noun)

   a sharp-pointed projection along the top of a fence or wall (or a dinosaur)

9. spike(noun)

   a long, thin sharp-pointed implement (wood or metal)

   "one of the spikes impaled him"

10. spike, spindle(noun)

    any holding device consisting of a rigid, sharp-pointed object

    "the spike pierced the receipts and held them in order"

11. spike(verb)

    a large stout nail

    "they used spikes to fasten the rails to a railroad tie"

12. spike(verb)

    stand in the way of

13. transfix, impale, empale, spike(verb)

    pierce with a sharp stake or point

    "impale a shrimp on a skewer"

14. spike(verb)

    secure with spikes

15. spike, spike out(verb)

    bring forth a spike or spikes

    "my hyacinths and orchids are spiking now"

16. spike, lace, fortify(verb)

    add alcohol to (beverages)

    "the punch is spiked!"

17. spike(verb)

    manifest a sharp increase

    "the voltage spiked"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. spike(Noun)

   A sort of very large nail; also, a piece of pointed iron set with points upward or outward.

2. spike(Noun)

   Anything resembling such a nail in shape.

3. spike(Noun)

   An ear of grain.

4. spike(Noun)

   A kind of inflorescence in which sessile flowers are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis.

5. spike(Noun)

   (in plural spikes; informal) Running shoes with spikes in the soles.

6. spike(Noun)

   A sharp peak in a graph.

7. spike(Noun)

   An attack from, usually, above the height of the net performed with the intent to send the ball straight to the floor of the opponent or off the hands of the opposing block.

8. spike(Noun)

   An adolescent male deer.

9. spike(Noun)

   a surge in power.

10. spike(Verb)

    To covertly put alcohol or another intoxicating substance in a drink that previously did not contain such substances.

11. spike(Verb)

    To add a small amount of one substance to another.

    The water sample to be tested has been spiked with arsenic, antimony, mercury, and lead in quantities commonly found in industrial effluents.

12. spike(Verb)

    To attack from, usually, above the height of the net with the intent to send the ball straight to the floor of the opponent or off the hands of the opposing block.

13. spike(Verb)

    To render (a gun) unusable by driving a metal spike into its touch hole.

14. spike(Verb)

    To decide not to publish or make public.

15. spike(Noun)

    (slang) The casual ward of a workhouse.

Origin: spīca "ear of grain"

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Spike(noun)

   a sort of very large nail; also, a piece of pointed iron set with points upward or outward

2. Spike(noun)

   anything resembling such a nail in shape

3. Spike(noun)

   an ear of corn or grain

4. Spike(noun)

   a kind of flower cluster in which sessile flowers are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis

5. Spike(verb)

   to fasten with spikes, or long, large nails; as, to spike down planks

6. Spike(verb)

   to set or furnish with spikes

7. Spike(verb)

   to fix on a spike

8. Spike(verb)

   to stop the vent of (a gun or cannon) by driving a spike nail, or the like into it

9. Spike(noun)

   spike lavender. See Lavender

Origin: [Cf. G. spieke, L. spica an ear of grain. See Spikenard.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Spike

   Spike, played by James Marsters, is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Spike is a vampire and played various roles on the shows, ranging from villain to anti-hero. For Marsters, the role as Spike began a career in science fiction television, becoming "the obvious go-to guy for US cult [television]". For creator Whedon, Spike is the "most fully developed" of his characters. The character had intended to be a brief villain, with Whedon originally adamant to not have another major "romantic vampire" character like Angel - Marsters says "Spike was supposed to be dirty and evil, punk rock, and then dead" - but the character ended up staying for the second season, and then returning in the fourth to replace Cordelia as "the character who told Buffy she was stupid and about to die". Within the series' narrative, William was an unsuccessful aspiring poet in the Victorian era who was mocked and called "William the Bloody" because of his "bloody awful" poetry. Sired by the vampire Drusilla, William became an unusually passionate and romantic vampire. Alongside Drusilla and Angelus, William acquired the nickname Spike for his preferred method of torturing people with railroad spikes. He was noted for killing two vampire Slayers; one at the end of the 1800s during the Boxer Rebellion, the other in 1970s New York, where Spike acquired his trademark leather duster. During the second season of the series Spike comes to Sunnydale hoping to kill a third Slayer, Buffy Summers, with whom he later forges an uneasy alliance. Over the course of Buffy, Spike falls in love with the Slayer, reacquires his soul to prove himself to Buffy and dies a hero in the show's series finale before being resurrected in the fifth season of spin-off series Angel.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Spike

   spīk, n. an ear of corn: (bot.) an inflorescence in which sessile flowers, or flowers having very short stalks, are arranged around an axis: a small pointed rod: a large nail.—v.t. to set with spikes: to stop the vent of with a cast-iron spike driven in hard and then broken off, as by soldiers obliged to abandon their own guns or unable to remove those of the enemy which they have captured.—adjs. Spī′cate, Spī′cose, Spī′cous, having spikes or ears, like corn; Spicif′erous, bearing spikes: having spurs; Spī′ciform, having the form of a spike.—n. Spicos′ity, state of being spicous or eared.—adjs. Spic′ūlar, resembling a dart: in the shape of, or having, sharp points; Spic′ūlate, covered with, or divided into, minute points.—n. Spic′ūle (bot.), a little spike—also Spic′ūla: a minute, slender granule or point.—adjs. Spic′ulīform; Spicūlig′enous, Spicūlif′erous, producing spicules; Spic′ūlōse, Spic′ūlous, having spicules.—ns. Spic′ūlum, a spicule; Spike′bill, a merganser, a sawbill: the marbled godwit.—p.adj. Spiked, furnished, fastened, or stopped with spikes.—ns. Spike′-extract′or, an apparatus for drawing out spikes, as from railway-ties; Spike′-fish, a kind of sail-fish; Spike′-grass, one of several American grasses with conspicuous spikelets of flowers; Spike′let, a little spike; Spike′-nail, a spike; Spike′-oil, the oil of spike, a species of lavender; Spike′-plank, a platform before the mizzen-mast of a vessel, used in Arctic voyages.—adj. Spī′ky, furnished with spikes: having a sharp point. [L. spica, an ear of corn.]

The New Hacker's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. spike

   1. 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). 2. [borderline techspeak] A visible peak in an otherwise rather constant graph (e.g. a sudden surge in line voltage, an unexpected short “high” on a logical line in a circuit). Hackers frequently use this for a sudden short increase in some quantity such as system load or network traffic.

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. spike

   Song lyrics by spike -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by spike on the Lyrics.com website.

Anagrams for spike »

1. kepis

2. kipes

3. pikes

4. kepis, kipes, pikes

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of spike in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of spike in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of spike in a Sentence

1. Seamus Mullen:

   A nonfat bran muffin will spike in a half hour.

2. Chicago Botanic Garden:

   Alice the Amorphophallus, a sibling of Spike, surprised us all.

3. Alex Schultz:

   Whenever a war starts, there's a big spike in graphic violence.

4. Ian Stewart:

   The spike in uncertainty has had a toxic effect on business sentiment.

5. Joerg Schreiber:

   The spike in demand at the end of 2014 will literally provoke a collapse in sales.

Images & Illustrations of spike

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