What does spiked mean?
“Spiked” most often describes something that has risen suddenly and steeply, especially a price, total, or rate of interest: sales spiked after the announcement. It can also describe an object fitted with sharp points, such as a spiked fence or a boot with studs. In informal British and American English, “spiked” may mean contaminated with an illicit drug, often in reference to a drink or an injection. Another chiefly British use labels a drink made with vodka, particularly one associated with 1970s nightlife. As a past-tense verb form, “spiked” can describe fitting something with spikes, driving a spike into it, raising a figure sharply, adulterating it with a drug, or striking a ball forcefully downward in volleyball. The word’s range of meanings connects harmless physical points with abrupt financial increases and, more ominously, contamination or danger. Recognizing the context therefore matters: “prices spiked” reports a rapid rise, while “the drink was spiked” suggests deliberate or covert drugging.
Fitted with sharp points; increased suddenly and sharply; containing an illicit drug; or made with vodka, especially in the chiefly British reference to a 1970s cocktail.
"The report noted that the number of complaints spiked shortly before the policy changed."
The illicit-drug sense is informal. The vodka-drink sense is chiefly British and now somewhat dated.
To fit with or drive in a spike; to rise or raise suddenly and sharply; to adulterate with an illicit drug; or to strike a ball forcefully downward in a sport such as volleyball.
"Demand spiked overnight, forcing the retailer to order more stock."
The sports sense is specialized but standard in volleyball and related contexts.
A “spiked” drink sounds like a vodka cocktail, but the modern alarming sense means it may have been secretly laced with drugs.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does spiked come from?
The word comes through Middle English from Old English forms associated with making or using a sharp point, ultimately from a Proto-Germanic and older Indo-European root concerned with points and sharpening. The core meanings were physical, but later figurative uses developed a sharp upward movement, as when prices rise suddenly. Its verb is closely connected with related forms such as pike and pick, and the later drug-related sense reflects the longstanding practice of adding a substance secretly to a drink.
Related word forms
How spiked is actually used
The drug-related sense is informal and usually carries a sense of danger or betrayal. The cocktail sense is chiefly associated with British 1970s usage and may sound dated elsewhere. In financial and statistical contexts, “spiked” is neutral to strongly negative, depending on whether the increase is welcome.
Easily confused with spiked
A spiked object has sharp points or has been contaminated with an illicit drug, whereas a spiced object or drink contains aromatic spices.