Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

spiky

/ˈspaɪki/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.75 in modern English

Syllables
spiky
IPA
/ˈspaɪki/
14
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of a plant part: resembling a spike of a plant (see above).

adj

Having one or more spikes; spiny.

adj

Of a thing: not smooth; rough, sharp.

adj

Excessively high church (“practising a formal style of liturgy and emphasizing continuity with Catholicism”).

Derogatory; Slang

Example Sentences

Etymology

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈspaɪki/
  • British English: /ˈspaɪki/

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Botany.

Inflected Forms

spikier (comparative) more spiky (comparative) spikiest (superlative) most spiky (superlative) spikey (alternative)

Derived Forms

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce spiky?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈspaɪki/.
What does spiky mean?
Of a plant: producing spikes (“ears (as of corn); inflorescences in which sessile flowers are arranged on unbranched elongated axes”).
Where does spiky come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce spiky

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “spiky”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈspaɪki/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “spiky”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “spiky” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.