Spike vs. Pike

A sort of very large nail.

A piece of pointed metal etc. set with points upward or outward.

Example: ‘The trap was lined with spikes.’;

Anything resembling such a nail in shape.

An ear of corn or grain.

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

A running shoe with spikes in the sole to provide grip.

A sharp peak in a graph.

A surge in power or in the price of a commodity etc.

The long, narrow part of a high-heeled shoe that elevates the heel.

A long nail for storing papers by skewering them; (by extension) the metaphorical place where rejected newspaper articles are sent.

(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.

(zoology) An adolescent male deer.

The casual ward of a workhouse.

Spike lavender.

Example: ‘oil of spike’;

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To fasten with spikes, or long, large nails.

Example: ‘to spike down planks’;

To set or furnish with spikes.

To embed nails into (a tree) so that any attempt to cut it down will damage equipment or injure people.

To fix on a spike.

To discard; to decide not to publish or make public.

To increase sharply.

Example: ‘Traffic accidents spiked in December when there was ice on the roads.’;

To covertly put alcohol or another intoxicating substance into a drink.

Example: ‘She spiked my lemonade with vodka!’;

To add a small amount of one substance to another.

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

(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.

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

(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 team to attempt to score the tying or winning points.

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

Anything resembling such a nail in shape.

Example: ‘He wears on his head the corona radiata . . . ; the spikes that shoot out represent the rays of the sun.’;

An ear of corn or grain.

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

Spike lavender. See Lavender.

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

To set or furnish with spikes.

To fix on a spike.

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

a transient variation in voltage or current

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

Example: ‘spikes provide greater traction’;

fruiting spike of a cereal plant especially corn

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

a sharp rise followed by a sharp decline;

Example: ‘the seismograph showed a sharp spike in response to the temblor’;

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

a long sharp-pointed implement (wood or metal)

any holding device consisting of a long sharp-pointed object

a long metal nail

stand in the way of

pierce with a sharp stake or point;

Example: ‘impale a shrimp on a skewer’;

secure with spikes

bring forth a spike or spikes;

Example: ‘my hyacinths and orchids are spiking now’;

add alcohol beverages

manifest a sharp increase;

Example: ‘the voltage spiked’;

A very long spear used two-handed by infantry soldiers for thrusting (not throwing), both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a countermeasure against cavalry assaults.

A sharp point, such as that of the weapon.

A large dry]] before adding to a haystack.

Any carnivorous freshwater fish of the genus Esox, especially the northern pike, Esox lucius.

A position with the knees straight and a tight bend at the hips with the torso folded over the legs, usually part of a jack-knife.

A pointy extrusion at the toe of a shoe.

Especially in place names: a hill or mountain, particularly one with a sharp peak or summit.

Example: ‘Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England.’;

(obsolete) A pick, a pickaxe.

A hayfork.

A penis.

A gypsy, itinerant tramp, or traveller from any ethnic background; a pikey.

(transitive) To prod, attack, or injure someone with a pike.

To assume a pike position.

To bet or gamble with only small amounts of money.

Often followed by on or out: to quit or back out of a promise.

Example: ‘Don’t pike on me like you did last time!’;

(intransitive) To equip with a turnpike.

To depart or travel (as if by a turnpike), especially to flee, to run away.

A foot soldier's weapon, consisting of a long wooden shaft or staff, with a pointed steel head. It is now superseded by the bayonet.

A pointed head or spike; esp., one in the center of a shield or target.

A hayfork.

A pick.

A pointed or peaked hill.

A large haycock.

A turnpike; a toll bar.

A large fresh-water fish (Esox lucius), found in Europe and America, highly valued as a food fish; - called also pickerel, gedd, luce, and jack.

a broad highway designed for high-speed traffic

highly valued northern freshwater fish with lean flesh

a sharp point (as on the end of a spear)

medieval weapon consisting of a spearhead attached to a long pole or pikestaff; superseded by the bayonet

any of several elongate long-snouted freshwater game and food fishes widely distributed in cooler parts of the northern hemisphere