Spike

noun
1.
a naillike fastener, 3 to 12 inches (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), spiked, spiking.
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.

to add alcoholic liquor to (a drink).
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), spiked, spiking.
23.
to rise or increase sharply (often followed by up):
Interest rates spiked up last week.
Idioms
24.
spike someone’s guns. gun1 (def 16).
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.
noun
1.
a sharp point
2.
any sharp-pointed object, esp one made of metal
3.
a long metal nail
4.
(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

5.
(pl) shoes with metal projections on the sole and heel for greater traction, as used by athletes
6.
the straight unbranched antler of a young deer
7.
(Brit, slang) another word for dosshouse
verb (mainly transitive)
8.
to secure or supply with or as with spikes
9.
to render ineffective or block the intentions of; thwart
10.
to impale on a spike
11.
to add alcohol to (a drink)
12.
(journalism) to reject (a news story)
13.
(volleyball) to hit (a ball) sharply downwards with an overarm motion from the front of one’s own court into the opposing court
14.
(formerly) to render (a cannon) ineffective by blocking its vent with a spike
15.
spike someone’s guns, to thwart someone’s purpose
noun (botany)
1.
an inflorescence consisting of a raceme of sessile flowers, as in the gladiolus and sedges
2.
an ear of wheat, barley, or any other grass that has sessile spikelets

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)
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.
spifflicated

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)