1
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as in jump
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1
as in to stab
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object
scorpions use their stinger-equipped tails to spike their prey
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2
as in to stimulate
to give life, vigor, or spirit to
he spiked what otherwise would have been a dry economic lecture with some jokes and anecdotes
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Examples of spike in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Alex Harring,gabriel Cortés, CNBC, 17 Aug. 2024
Heat waves also correlate with spikes in water contamination, especially in low-income areas.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 15 Aug. 2024
Stephen Swanson, CBS News, 5 Sep. 2024
Pet ownership has been increasing for years and spiked during the pandemic.
—Nick Halter, Axios, 18 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spike 
Noun
But the latest inflationary wave appears more connected to a spike of nearly 8% from March to April, which can be tied to seasonal patterns in the bird flu.
—Alex Harring,gabriel Cortés, CNBC, 17 Aug. 2024
Heat waves also correlate with spikes in water contamination, especially in low-income areas.
—Celia Ford, Vox, 15 Aug. 2024
Verb
The nonprofit initially received just less than $3 million in federal funds, but that amount spiked to nearly $200 million by 2021.
—Stephen Swanson, CBS News, 5 Sep. 2024
Pet ownership has been increasing for years and spiked during the pandemic.
—Nick Halter, Axios, 18 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spike
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spike.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Spike.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spike. Accessed 18 Sep. 2024.
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