Definition of "spike" []

• A long, thick, sharp-pointed piece of wood or metal. (noun)
• A heavy nail. (noun)
• A spikelike part or projection, as: (noun)
• A sharp-pointed projection along the top of a fence or wall. (noun)
• A thin, sharp-pointed vertical rod for impaling papers; a spindle. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Local Government Association chief John Ransford said there had been a "short term spike" in redundancies as councils made changes to cut long-term costs."
• "At first, OPM officials attributed the poor performance to what they described as a spike in traffic from first-time visitors and old members logging in to check passwords."
• ""The roll you get in the 'spike' is that 'ard you can't eat it nicely with less'n a pint of water," said the Carpenter, for my benefit."