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
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Recent Examples of spiked
Ryan Mancini, The Hill, 17 Apr. 2026
Prices for the goods and services Americans use the most spiked higher in March as the war in Iran unfolded.
—Jessica Bryant, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Ticket prices spiked to record highs for Inter Miami’s road game Wednesday against Real Salt Lake, just a few days after a crowd of 75,824, the second largest in MLS history, saw Lionel Messi score twice in a win over the Colorado Rapids at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.
—Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spiked
Adjective
Iran’s closure of the strait spiked global fuel prices and impacted the passage of other goods, including fertilizer.
—Ryan Mancini, The Hill, 17 Apr. 2026
Prices for the goods and services Americans use the most spiked higher in March as the war in Iran unfolded.
—Jessica Bryant, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026
Verb
Gas prices spiked after the Ukraine war began in 2022 but did not spur major ridership increases in local public transportation, and the question is whether the reaction to high fuel prices from the Iran war will be different.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Ticket prices spiked to record highs for Inter Miami’s road game Wednesday against Real Salt Lake, just a few days after a crowd of 75,824, the second largest in MLS history, saw Lionel Messi score twice in a win over the Colorado Rapids at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver.
—Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spiked
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiked
Adjective
-
This will be a bumper quarter for oil and gas shareholders, who have always learned to stick it out through the doldrums for spikey periods like this.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
19 Mar. 2026
-
But a few things stick out as incorrect: The costume Diplo is wearing in the video does not match the actual, taller and spikier grassy costumes worn during the show.—
Katie Bain,
Billboard,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Marcus Semien hit a chopper down the left side, which Jorbit Vivas stabbed at wildly while missing it badly.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Two people were stabbed in north London on Wednesday in an attack that police have now formally declared a terrorist incident, prompting a major emergency response and an ongoing counterterrorism investigation.—
Bradford Betz,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
When people spend long periods in activities that require very little mental effort, those pathways may not be stimulated in the same way.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
6 Apr. 2026
-
The induced impact of our cast and crew spending along with the workers along the supply chain in turn stimulated even more economic growth.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Dense rows of Xs in the background suggest barbed wire.—
Ben Davis,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
-
The barbed fact is that the woman caught in the middle of this unusual male arrangement benefits from none of their newfound emotional enlightenment.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Nikki is tall, pierced, and punk rock; her pink hair is shaved down the sides and forms a floppy mohawk up top.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
23 Apr. 2026
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The Cook County medical examiner’s office found that the fatal shot pierced Rivera’s skin near her left armpit and traveled through both her lungs, wedging itself in her ribs, autopsy records show.—
Sam Charles,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Data center plans have stirred public controversy due to the massive needs of water and energy to run the them, and nearby residents worry could centers could sap up their own resources and drive up electric bills.—
Addison Wright,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
-
And yet, here in April, with the run-in upon the club and its biggest knockout match for 30 years coming into view at Wembley, Longstaff stirred those emotions again.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The plane hitting the water is destructive enough without the help of a jagged coral reef (improbably far from any coastline) slicing through the aircraft’s undercarriage.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Known for their jagged peaks, glacial lakes, and vast icefields, the Canadian Rockies are among the world’s most stunning mountain ranges, forming a natural divide between Alberta and British Columbia.—
Taryn White,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The hero worship was eventually punctured, though, and in the nineteenth century Leonardo and Michelangelo would become the twin heads of Renaissance art genius.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
The scissors work great, but because the props team punctured the uterus to assist in the incision, the amniotic liquid started leaking out, seeping into the prosthetic torso Wolf is strapped into.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spiked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiked. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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