Meaning & use
spike
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Meanings
nouncountable
A sudden, sharp rise in an amount, level, or rate.
Grammar: Usually singular with in: a spike in prices, not spikes in price.
Patterns
- a spike in something
- a sharp/sudden spike
- cause a spike
There was a spike in electricity demand during the heat wave.
Doctors reported a spike in flu cases in January.
The rumor caused a spike in online searches.
nouncountable
A long, sharp metal point or object.
Grammar: Countable; often plural for the points on shoes, fences, or sports gear.
Patterns
- a metal spike
- spikes on shoes
- a row of spikes
The old gate was topped with iron spikes.
Her running shoes had metal spikes for traction.
He hammered a spike into the railroad tie.
verbtransitiveinformal
To secretly add alcohol or a drug to someone's drink or food.
Grammar: Takes an object; often passive: the drink was spiked.
Patterns
- spike a drink
- spike someone's food
- be spiked
Never leave your drink where someone could spike it.
Police warned that glasses may have been spiked at the party.
She suspected her soda had been spiked with alcohol.
Word forms
| plural | spikes |
|---|---|
| third person singular | spikes |
| past tense | spiked |
| past participle | spiked |
| -ing form | spiking |
Common combinations
- a spike in prices
- The storm caused a spike in prices for bottled water.
- a spike in cases
- Health officials noticed a spike in cases after the festival.
- spike a drink
- It is dangerous to leave a drink where someone might spike it.
- wear spikes
- The athlete wore spikes on the track.
Synonyms and how they differ
- surge
- Describes a strong increase, but not always as sudden and brief as a spike.
- upsurge
- A formal rise or increase, often slower or broader than a sharp spike.
- prong
- For sharp points, prong is one projecting point of a fork or tool, not a sudden rise.
- lace
- For the verb, lace often means adding something to change taste or effect; spike stresses secret or harmful addition.
Opposites
Word family
- spiky adjective
- Having sharp points, or short and stiff in texture.
Practice
There was a sharp spike ___ hospital admissions during the heat wave.
Choose one answer.
The fixed pattern is a spike in something, such as prices, demand, or admissions. Of may follow some nouns, but not this standard collocation; at and to do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spike”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.