释义 |
spike I. \ˈspīk\ noun (-s) Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English spike, spik, probably from Middle Dutch spike; akin to Middle Low German spīker spike, Old Norse spīk splinter, Lithuanian speigliaĩ thorns, Latin spina thorn — more at spine 1. a. : a very large nail; specifically : one three or more inches long and often of square section (as a barge spike) b. : a similar fastener used on railroads for securing rails to ties 2. : a pointed piece of metal set with the point upward or outward : a pointed metal projection: as a. : one of a row of pointed irons placed (as on the top of a wall) to prevent passage b. : one of several metal projections set in the sole and heel of a shoe to improve traction (as in logging, baseball, track and field, golf) and made in varying size, shape, and number for different activities — compare calk, cleat, climbing iron c. : a needlelike steel spindle set upright in a base and used for temporary filing of papers (as restaurant bills, rejected newspaper copy) 3. : something suggesting a spike (as in tapering to a point): as a. : a young mackerel not over six inches long b. : an unbranched antler of a young deer c. : a backward projection on the rose comb of a fowl 4. Britain : a rigid adherent of high church dogma or ritual 5. : spike disease 6. a. : spike heel b. : a spike-heeled shoe 7. spikes plural : a pair of shoes having spikes attached 8. [spike (II) ] : the act or an instance of spiking a volleyball — see setup 9. a. : the pointed element in a graph or tracing: as (1) : the sharp up-and-down deflections on a fever chart indicating high and low temperature levels < had a fever with spikes to 102° F > (2) : the pointed element in an electroencephalogram wave < the spike and dome pattern representing the discharges characteristic of petit mal epilepsy > b. : an unusually high and sharply defined maximum (as of amplitude in a wave train) 10. slang : hypodermic needle II. verb (-ed/-ing/-s) transitive verb 1. : to fasten or fix with spikes < all the track he owned had been laid and spiked — Bill Collins > 2. a. (1) : to disable (a muzzle-loading cannon) temporarily by driving a spike into the vent (2) : to disable (a modern breech-loading cannon) by breaking or carrying away part of the breech mechanism b. : to put an end to : suppress or cut off completely : quash < spike the minority proposal and present one of their own > < spike the rumor by publishing a full account of the affair > 3. a. : to pierce or impale with or on a spike < spike an enemy with a bayonet > specifically : injure with the spikes on one's shoes < in sliding the runner spiked the second baseman > b. : to reject (newspaper copy) by or as if by impalement on a spike < the correspondent may wonder why his piece was spiked in favor of an item about the weather — Anthony Wigan > 4. : to set or furnish with spikes < spike the bottoms of his climbing shoes > 5. a. : to add alcohol or strong spirituous liquor to (beer or a nonalcoholic beverage) < Frenchmen, accustomed to spiking coffee with cognac — Newsweek > b. : to increase the effect, interest, or attractiveness of : add strength or pungency to < lighten the discussion by spiking it with dry humor > < geranium-pink spikes this kitchen and matches the flowers — Kay Hardy > 6. : to drive (a volleyball) into the opponents' court at a sharp angle with a hard downward blow delivered from a front line position — compare kill vt 8 intransitive verb 1. : to form a spike : project like a spike < docks which spike outward from the eastern fringe of the city — E.K.Gann > 2. : to alternate sharply high points and low points in temperature as shown on a fever chart • - spike one's guns III. noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English spik head (of grain), from Latin spica head (of grain), tuft (of a plant); akin to Dutch spie peg, pin, Latin spina thorn — more at spine 1. : an ear of grain 2. : an elongated indeterminate inflorescence similar to a raceme but having the flowers sessile on the main axis (as in common plantain) — see inflorescence illustration IV. dialect England variant of2 spick V. noun 1. : a momentary sharp increase and fall in electric potential < voltage spikes > also : action potential herein 2. : an abrupt sharp increase (as in prices or rates) VI. transitive verb : to undergo a sudden sharp increase in (temperature or fever) < the patient spiked a fever of 103° > |