1
as in stabbed
to penetrate or hold (something) with a pointed object
scorpions use their stinger-equipped tails to spike their prey
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in stimulated
to give life, vigor, or spirit to
he spiked what otherwise would have been a dry economic lecture with some jokes and anecdotes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of spiked
Alan Ohnsman, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
The costs of essentials, the stuff firms and people cannot do without, spiked.
—Isabella M. Weber, Foreign Affairs, 15 Jan. 2025
What To Know Half a decade on from the COVID outbreak, images posted on social media of hospitals in China have spiked concerns of another heath crisis.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 4 Jan. 2025
Canadian public expenditure of course spiked during the pandemic.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiked
Adjective
Early this month the company’s languishing shares, which traded below $5 for much of 2024, spiked 29% to close at $8.39 on news of tech partnerships with AI chip behemoth Nvidia and truck parts maker Continental.
—Alan Ohnsman, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
The costs of essentials, the stuff firms and people cannot do without, spiked.
—Isabella M. Weber, Foreign Affairs, 15 Jan. 2025
What To Know Half a decade on from the COVID outbreak, images posted on social media of hospitals in China have spiked concerns of another heath crisis.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 4 Jan. 2025
Canadian public expenditure of course spiked during the pandemic.
—David Frum, The Atlantic, 15 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spiked
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiked
Adjective
-
Jasmine petals, one of my favorite floral notes, is given a spikier edge alongside Australian pink pepper, while raspberry and spun sugar add a pleasing sweetness without being too much.—
Venus Wong,
refinery29.com,
30 Oct. 2024
-
How Stem Segments Tell the Difference The Thanksgiving cactus has the spikiest stem segments of the three varieties, and its pollen is yellow.—
Emma Phelps,
Southern Living,
30 Oct. 2023
Verb
-
Two people were stabbed at a transit station in Queens, with one of them dying, and a woman was set on fire and died on a subway car in Brooklyn.—
Jack Birle,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
23 Dec. 2024
-
Hernandez-Velasco, 32, was rushed to Stamford Hospital after he was stabbed at a party, cops said.—
Joseph Wilkinson,
New York Daily News,
23 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Mengistu, a member of Israel's Ethiopian minority, entered the territory by crossing a barbed wire fence into Gaza.—
ASSOCIATED PRESS,
TIME,
22 Feb. 2025
-
All pennies will henceforth be exiled to Guantanamo to live out their lives as former currency in orange jumpsuits, behind barbed wire, only inches from the best beaches ever.—
Barry Scott Zellen,
Hartford Courant,
18 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
On May 5, 1962, sea ice pierced the Quest’s hull, consigning it to a watery grave off the northeast coast of Canada.—
Meilan Solly,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 Dec. 2024
-
Bake in preheated oven until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, 20 to 25 minutes.—
Sabrina Weiss,
People.com,
26 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
This move has stirred controversy and concern amongst community leaders in New Orleans, a city with a historically high homicide rate.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Jan. 2025
-
Musk usefully stirred the pot on this issue.—
The Editors,
National Review,
30 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
The image teases both the film’s narrative developments and its jagged formal approach, as the director (who shares editing duties with both co-writer Karen Plata and DP Odei Zabaleta) aims to structurally replicate the non-linear disorder and occasional blind spots of ruptured childhood memories.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Located on the historic Santa Barbara plantation, the jagged limestone peak is accessible at four different points with routes up to 164 feet high (50 meters), depending on your athletic ability.—
Curaçao Tourist Board,
AFAR Media,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The one tool Clarke recommends most is the multi-use cheese knife recognizable for the holes in its blade, which usually comes with a pronged tip.—
Betty Hallock,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Dec. 2024
-
That's why this pronged device will become your new kitchen assistant.—
Wendy Vazquez,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Nov. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Spiked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiked. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share