[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

spike \spike\, v. t. imp.  p. p. spiked; p. pr.  vb. n.
   spiking.
   1. to fasten with spikes, or long, large nails; as, to spike
      down planks.
      1913 webster

   2. to set or furnish with spikes.
      1913 webster

   3. to fix on a spike. r. --young.
      1913 webster

   4. to stop the vent of a gun or cannon by driving a spike
      nail, or the like into it.
      1913 webster
      1913 webster
see also:
spiked spiking 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

spike \spike\, n. akin to lg. spiker, spieker, a large nail, d.
   spijker, sw. spik, dan. spiger, icel. spimack; all perhaps
   from l. spica a point, an ear of grain; but in the sense of
   nail more likely akin to e. spoke of a wheel. cf. spine.
   1. a sort of very large nail; also, a piece of pointed iron
      set with points upward or outward.
      1913 webster

   2. anything resembling such a nail in shape.
      1913 webster

            he wears on his head the corona radiata . . .; the
            spikes that shoot out represent the rays of the sun.
                                                  --addison.
      1913 webster

   3. an ear of corn or grain.
      1913 webster

   4. bot. a kind of flower cluster in which sessile flowers
      are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis.
      1913 webster

   spike grass bot., either of two tall perennial american
      grasses uniola paniculata, and uniola latifolia
      having broad leaves and large flattened spikelets.

   spike rush. bot. see under rush.

   spike shell zool., any pteropod of the genus styliola
      having a slender conical shell.

   spike team, three horses, or a horse and a yoke of oxen,
      harnessed together, a horse leading the oxen or the span.
      u.s.
      1913 webster
see also:
spine spike grass uniola paniculata uniola latifolia spike rush rush 
spike shell styliola spike team 

[3] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

spike \spike\, n. cf. g. spieke, l. spica an ear of grain. see
   spikenard. bot.
   spike lavender. see lavender.
   1913 webster

   oil of spike chem., a colorless or yellowish aromatic oil
      extracted from the european broad-leaved lavender, or
      aspic lavendula spica, used in artist's varnish and in
      veterinary medicine. it is often adulterated with oil of
      turpentine, which it much resembles.
      1913 webster
see also:
spikenard lavender oil of spike lavendula spica 

[4] : WordNet (r) 2.0

spike
     n 1: a transient variation in voltage or current
     2: sports equipment consisting of a sharp point on the sole of
        a shoe worn by athletes; "spikes provide greater traction"
     3: fruiting spike of a cereal plant especially corn syn: ear,
         capitulum
     4: botany an indeterminate inflorescence bearing sessile
        flowers on an unbranched axis
     5: a sharp rise followed by a sharp decline; "the seismograph
        showed a sharp spike in response to the temblor"
     6: a sharp-pointed projection along the top of a fence or wall
     7: a long sharp-pointed implement wood or metal
     8: any holding device consisting of a long sharp-pointed object
     9: a long metal nail
     v 1: stand in the way of
     2: pierce with a sharp stake or point; "impale a shrimp on a
        skewer" syn: transfix, impale, empale
     3: secure with spikes
     4: bring forth a spike or spikes; "my hyacinths and orchids are
        spiking now" syn: spike out
     5: add alcohol beverages syn: lace, fortify
     6: manifest a sharp increase; "the voltage spiked"
see also:
ear capitulum transfix impale empale spike out 
lace fortify 

[5] : Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

211 moby thesaurus words for "spike":
   adulterate, ament, annul, auger, auricle, baffle, balk, bastardize,
   bayonet, bite, blast, block, bore, bramble, brave, brier, bristle,
   broach, bugger, bung, burr, cactus, cancel, capitulum, catchweed,
   catkin, challenge, check, check valve, checkmate, circumvent,
   cleavers, cob, cock, cone, confound, confront, contaminate,
   contravene, cork, corncob, corrupt, corymb, counter, counteract,
   countermand, countersink, counterwork, cripple, cross, cut, cyme,
   dagger, dash, de-energize, debase, debilitate, defeat, defy,
   denaturalize, denature, destroy, dilute, dirk, disable, disarm,
   discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, disenable, dish, disrupt,
   doctor, doctor up, drain, drill, drug, ear, ear of corn, elude,
   empierce, enfeeble, equipage, faucet, fix, flummox, foil, fortify,
   four-in-hand, frustrate, goose grass, gore, gouge, gouge out,
   hamstring, head, hole, honeycomb, hors de combat, impale,
   inactivate, incapacitate, kibosh, knife, knock the chocks, lace,
   lame, lance, lid, maim, mealie, nail, needle, nettle, nonplus,
   nullify, pair, panicle, peg, penetrate, perforate, perplex, picket,
   pierce, pike, pin, pine cone, pine needle, pink, plug, plunge in,
   poison, pollute, poniard, prick, prickle, prong, punch, puncture,
   put, queer, queer the works, quill, raceme, randem, ream, ream out,
   riddle, rig, ruin, run through, saber, sabotage, scotch, sea cock,
   skewer, spadix, span, spear, spicule, spiculum, spigot, spike team,
   spikelet, spile, spill, spine, spit, spoil, stab, stake, stick,
   sticker, stiletto, stonewall, stop, stopgap, stopper, stopple,
   strengthen, strobile, stump, sword, tamper with, tandem, tap, team,
   thistle, thorn, three-up, thwart, thyrse, transfix, transpierce,
   treenail, trepan, trephine, turnout, umbel, unfit, unicorn, upset,
   valve, verticillaster, void, water, water down, weaken, wing,
   wreck, yucca

[6] : Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)

spike v. 1. to defeat a selection mechanism by introducing a sometimes
   temporary device that forces a specific result. the word is used in
   several industries; telephone engineers refer to spiking a relay by
   inserting a pin to hold the relay in either the closed or open state,
   and railroaders refer to spiking a track switch so that it cannot be
   moved. in programming environments it normally refers to a temporary
   change, usually for testing purposes as opposed to a permanent change,
   which would be called hardwired. 2. borderline techspeak a visible
   peak in an otherwise rather constant graph e.g. a sudden surge in line
   voltage, an unexpected short "high" on a logical line in a circuit.
   hackers frequently use this for a sudden short increase in some quantity
   such as system load or network traffic.


see also:
hardwired 

[7] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

spike
     
         to defeat a selection mechanism by introducing a
        sometimes temporary device that forces a specific result.
        the word is used in several industries; telephone engineers
        refer to spiking a relay by inserting a pin to hold the relay
        in either the closed or open state, and railroaders refer to
        spiking a track switch so that it cannot be moved.  in
        programming environments it normally refers to a temporary
        change, usually for testing purposes as opposed to a
        permanent change, which would be called hard-coded.
     
        1999-10-18
     
     
see also:
hard-coded 

Spike >> S Words
Spike, definition of term: Spike
spike_pag1.html

Spike Heel >> S Words
Spike Heel, definition of term: Spike Heel
spike+heel_pag1.html