spiky
/ˈspaɪki/adjective
spiky is spelled S-P-I-K-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, spiky means “Of a plant: producing spikes (“ears (as of corn); inflorescences in which sessile flowers are arranged on unbranched elongated axes”)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in spiky?
| Letters | 5: S-P-I-K-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 39,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is spiky?
Spiky appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,336th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce spiky?
- US /ˈspaɪki/
Spiky has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-spiky.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-spiky.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with spiky?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as spiky from its last stressed vowel (/aɪki/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of spiky
- spikier comparative
- more spiky comparative
- spikiest superlative
- most spiky superlative
- spikey
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does spiky mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of a plant: producing spikes (“ears (as of corn); inflorescences in which sessile flowers are arranged on unbranched elongated axes”).
- 2
Of a plant part: resembling a spike of a plant (see above).
- 3
Having one or more spikes; spiny.
- 4
Resembling spikes: erect and having sharp points; spikelike.
- 5
Of a person or their nature: difficult to deal with; abrasive, hostile, unfriendly.
a spiky personality
- 6
Of a thing: not smooth; rough, sharp.
- 7
derogatoryslangExcessively high church (“practising a formal style of liturgy and emphasizing continuity with Catholicism”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Spiky in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | piquant |
| German | stachelig, stachlig |
| Portuguese | espinhoso |
| Spanish | puntiagudo, hirsuto, híspido , chuzo, de punta, parado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does spiky come from?
From spike (“kind of inflorescence in which sessile flowers are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis”) + -y (suffix forming adjectives with the sense “having the quality of”). Spike is derived from Middle English spik, spike (“ear of grain; clove of garlic; plant having spikes; plant of the genus Valeriana, especially Valeriana officinalis; plant of the genus Lavandula, lavender”), from Latin spīca (“ear, head, or spike of grain; plant spike”) (feminine) (also rarely spīcum (neuter) and spīcus (masculine)), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“long; sharp; thin”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).