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
Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2026
According to Dalton, the affiliate's providers are seeing a spiked interest in aesthetic services, many for cosmetic reasons.
—Laura Fitzgerald, NPR, 25 Apr. 2026
Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 6 May 2026
Airfare prices have spiked by 20% or more depending on the airline compared to last year’s costs.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 6 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for spiked
Adjective
But the move to the Denver Coliseum and the ability to play most of their home games on Saturdays spiked attendance.
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 26 Apr. 2026
According to Dalton, the affiliate's providers are seeing a spiked interest in aesthetic services, many for cosmetic reasons.
—Laura Fitzgerald, NPR, 25 Apr. 2026
Verb
For example, the global average price of oil per barrel spiked nearly 300 percent by 1974 because of the 1973 oil embargo, in which the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) banned exports to nations that supported Israel in that year’s Yom Kippur War.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 6 May 2026
Airfare prices have spiked by 20% or more depending on the airline compared to last year’s costs.
—Jordan Blum, Fortune, 6 May 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
-
Arriving officers found an unresponsive man who had significant injuries consistent with being stabbed, Becchina said.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
13 May 2026
-
What followed, Lane claimed, was a four-hour altercation in which Wilson choked and stabbed him multiple times in the chest and hand, before throwing him through a pair of sliding glass doors.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
13 May 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
-
Through the 1960s, Black residents could not attend movies or plays at the segregated theater, and the property long had a fence topped with barbed wire facing the neighborhood.—
Andres Viglucci,
Miami Herald,
8 May 2026
-
Against the backdrop of prison watchtowers and barbed wire, the day in Joliet featured three hours’ worth of pregame festivities, including 15 food trucks serving delicacies as quintessential as hot dogs and as unique as gourmet pasta in garlic bread cones.—
Audrey Pachuta,
Chicago Tribune,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
His most severe injuries were to his eyes, which were pierced with shrapnel.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
6 May 2026
-
One of the bullets pierced Bradley’s heart and lung, Meyer said.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
1 May 2026
Verb
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People can get sick after breathing in contaminated particles that get stirred into the air, especially while cleaning or spending time in places where rodents have been active, like sheds, garages, barns, cabins and storage areas.—
Tiffani Jackson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
7 May 2026
-
Adaptogens are everywhere right now — stirred into morning coffee, mixed into mocktails, packed into gummies and even worked into skincare.—
Ryan Brennan,
Sacbee.com,
7 May 2026
Adjective
-
But the storms that lash the unpeopled coasts and jagged mountains of our Fiftieth State are no respecters of men, even the best of us.—
Ben East,
Outdoor Life,
14 May 2026
-
From the beginning, the Palisades, with its Mediterranean climate and jagged coastline, lured the most adventurous of settlers, each generation reshaping it in its own image.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
Verb
-
Vanderbilt suffered a dislocated right pinkie, team sources confirmed, with photos and video appearing to show the joint having punctured the skin.—
Dan Woike,
New York Times,
6 May 2026
-
By the end of the learning unit, Burton said growth in the children could be seen as their vocabularies expanded to using words such as thermometer, blood pressure and punctured.—
Tribune News Service,
Baltimore Sun,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spiked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiked. Accessed 15 May. 2026.
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