spiked

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of spike.

   Someone had spiked her drink at the party, and her friends took her to the hospital.

   Lab technicians spiked each water sample with a known amount of lead before testing.

   Note

   One form does both jobs: the simple past (prices spiked overnight) and the past participle (the punch had been spiked). The sharp-rise meaning stands without an object; the others usually take one, often naming what was added after with: a drink spiked with vodka, a water sample spiked with lead. After be or get, the participle shades into the adjective for doctored drinks.

2. 2
   adjective

   Of a drink, containing alcohol or drugs that have been added to it, often without the drinkers' knowledge.

   Someone brought spiked lemonade to the church picnic, and the organizers were furious.

   Police warned that several students had been served spiked drinks at the club.

   Similarlaced, doctored, drugged

   Note

   The word covers both a party trick and a crime. Spiked punch may be openly labeled, with a separate bowl set out for the children; a spiked drink at a club usually means alcohol or a drug slipped in without the drinker's knowledge. The setting, not the word, tells you which is meant.

3. 3
   adjective

   Covered with or bearing spikes.

   The runners laced up their spiked shoes before the first race.

   A tall spiked iron fence ran along the front of the old mansion.

   Similarspiky, studded, pointed

4. 4
   adjective

   Of a graph or trend, having climbed rapidly to a maximum.

   The spiked curve on the monitor showed demand peaking within minutes of the announcement.

   Analysts warned that such a sharply spiked trend could fall back just as fast.

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