spike | |
1. s. A sort of very large nail; also, a piece of pointed iron set with points upward/outward. | |
2. s. Anything resembling such a nail in shape. | |
3. s. An ear of corn or grain. | |
4. s. (botany) A kind of inflorescence in which sessile flowers are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis. | |
5. s. (in plural spikes; informal) Running shoes with spikes in the soles. | |
6. s. A sharp peak in a graph. | |
7. s. The long, narrow part of a high-heeled shoe that elevates the heel. | |
8. s. A long nail for storing papers and, by extension, the metaphorical place where rejected newspaper articles are sent. | |
9. s. (volleyball) 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. | |
10. s. (zoology) An adolescent male deer. | |
11. s. A surge in power. | |
12. s. (slang) The casual ward of a workhouse. | |
13. s. Spike lavender. | |
oil of spike | |
14. s. (music, lutherie) (synonym of endpin). | |
15. v. To fasten with spikes, or long, large nails. | |
to spike down planks | |
16. v. To set or furnish with spikes. | |
17. v. To fix on a spike. | |
18. v. To embed nails into (a tree) so that any attempt to cut it down will damage equipment or injure people. | |
19. v. To prevent or frustrate. | |
20. v. To increase sharply. | |
Traffic accidents spiked in December when there was ice on the roads. | |
21. v. To covertly put alcohol or another intoxicating substance into a drink. | |
She spiked my lemonade with vodka! | |
22. v. 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. | |
23. v. (volleyball) 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. | |
24. v. (military) To render (a gun) unusable by driving a metal spike into its touch hole. | |
25. v. (journalism) To decide not to publish or make public. | |
26. v. (football slang) To slam the football to the ground, usually in celebration of scoring a touchdown, or to stop expiring time on the game clock after snapping the ball as to save time for the losing te | |