spikes

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of spike.

   Railroad workers drove the spikes into the wooden ties with heavy hammers.

   Power spikes during the storm damaged several of the office computers.

   Note

   The plural is regular, and it gathers every kind of spike: railroad spikes in the ties, points along a fence, power spikes on a graph, a volleyball team's spikes at the net. Because shoes and road strips also go by the name, as track shoes and a spike strip, a sentence about runners or a police chase may mean the whole object rather than separate points.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of spike.

   Traffic to the website spikes whenever the show mentions it.

   The lab spikes each sample with a tiny amount of dye before testing it.

   Note

   The rising meaning takes no object: traffic spikes whenever the show mentions it. Every other use takes one: someone spikes a drink, a lab spikes a sample with dye, a hitter spikes the ball at the net, a quarterback spikes the football to stop the clock. In the drink sense, the word usually implies that the drinker does not know.

3. 3
   nounplural

   A pair of athletic shoes with sharp points set into the sole and heel for better traction.

   The sprinter changed into her spikes just before the final.

   Cross-country runners pulled on their spikes for the muddy course.

   Note

   Runners name these shoes the way everyone names trousers and scissors: usually in the plural, and counted by the pair. Her spikes are in the bag; a sprinter may keep two pairs of spikes, one for the track and one for muddy cross-country. The verb follows the plural form: my spikes are worn out.

4. 4
   nounplural

   Another name for a spike strip, the band of sharp points laid across a road to puncture vehicle tires.

   Troopers threw down spikes at the exit ramp, and the fleeing car rolled to a stop.

   The driver swerved to avoid the spikes but caught them with his front tires.

   Note

   Where the full name is singular, a spike strip, the short form is plural only: troopers throw down spikes at an exit ramp, and a driver who swerves may still catch them with his front tires. The verb that follows is plural too, as in the spikes were already down.

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