spike

/spaɪk/

//spaɪk// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"spike" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spike” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,612. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,612
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sort of very large nail.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spike · spike · English

spike · rank #7,612 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,612
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH spa

Nearest frequency peer: spa (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “spike”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “spike” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

spike vs spin
60% similar
spike vs spit
60% similar
spike vs spoke
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for spike
PropertyValue
Headwordspike
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/spaɪk/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,612
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “spike”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).spikelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “spa” (#7,611), “sprint” (#7,613), “socially” (#7,610). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “spike” is #7,612. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around spike (IPA /spaɪk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,612 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 19 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for spike, with forms such as "psike", "sipke", and "spiek". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "spin", "spit", "spoke", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English spike, spyke, spik, from Old Norse spík (“spike, sprig”), from Proto-Germanic *spīkō (“stick, splinter, point”), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“to be pointed; sharp point, stick”). Cognate with Icelandic spík (“spike”), Swedish spik (… The correct English form is spike, spelled S-P-I-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sort of very large nail.
  2. 2
    A piece of pointed metal etc. set with points upward or outward.
  3. 3
    Anything resembling such a nail in shape.
  4. 4
    An ear of corn or grain.
  5. 5
    A kind of inflorescence in which sessile flowers are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis.
  6. 6
    A running shoe with spikes in the sole to provide grip.
  7. 7
    A sharp peak in a graph.
  8. 8
    A surge in power or in the price of a commodity, etc.; any sudden and brief change that would be represented by a sharp peak on a graph.
  9. 9
    The rod-like protrusion from a woman's high-heeled shoe that elevates the heel.
  10. 10
    A long nail for storing papers by skewering them; (by extension) the metaphorical place where rejected newspaper articles are sent.
  11. 11
    An attack from, usually, above the height of the net performed with the intent to send the ball straight to the floor of the opponent or off the hands of the opposing block.
  12. 12
    An adolescent male deer.
  13. 13
    The casual ward of a workhouse.
  14. 14
    Spike lavender.
  15. 15
    Synonym of endpin.
  16. 16
    A mark indicating where a prop or other item should be placed on stage.
  17. 17
    A small project that uses the simplest possible program to explore potential solutions.
  18. 18
    An excessively high church Anglican.
  19. 19
    a structure projecting from the surface of an enveloped virus, which binds to host cells.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how spike appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The trap was lined with spikes.
  2. He vvears on his head the Corona Radiata, vvhich at that time vvas another type of his Divinity. The ſpikes that ſhoot out from the crovvn vvere to repreſent the rays of the Sun.

Etymology

From Middle English spike, spyke, spik, from Old Norse spík (“spike, sprig”), from Proto-Germanic *spīkō (“stick, splinter, point”), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“to be pointed; sharp point, stick”). Cognate with Icelandic spík (“spike”), Swedish spik (“spike, nail”), Dutch spijker (“nail”), Old English spīcing (“spike”), and Latin spīca (“ear of corn”), which may have influenced some senses.

This word in other languages

clavo(Español)clou(Français)Nagel(Deutsch)espinho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psike
  • sipke
  • spiek
  • spikke
  • spkie
  • sppike
  • sspike

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spike - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

psike2sipke2spiek2spikke1spkie2sppike1sspike1
Edit distance from "spike"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "spike"?
"spike" is spelled S-P-I-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /spaɪk/.
What does "spike" mean?
As a noun, "spike" means: A sort of very large nail.
What words are commonly confused with "spike"?
"spike" is commonly confused with "spin", "spit", "spoke". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spike"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spike" is /spaɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "spike"?
From Middle English spike, spyke, spik, from Old Norse spík (“spike, sprig”), from Proto-Germanic *spīkō (“stick, splinter, point”), from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“to be pointed; sharp point, stick”). Cognate with Icelandic spík (“spike”), Swed... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "spike", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

skirt#7,609toast#7,624polar#7,594waist#7,635

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

rapper7 variantspuzzle7 variantspillow7 variantsballet7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list