noun / verb · neutral
spike
/spaɪk/SPIKE
task1speaking
a sudden large increase, often short-lived (verb: to increase sharply and briefly)
Examples
“There was a spike in website traffic immediately after the news broke.”
“Electricity use spiked during the heatwave.”
“A temporary spike in demand caused short-term shortages.”
Band 8 sentence
“A sudden spike in online donations followed the charity's televised campaign, but contributions fell back after a week.”
Collocations
- a spike in
- spike to
Word family
spike nounspike verbspiked verb (past)
Common mistakes
a spike unemployment→a spike in unemployment
Sales spiked up last night.→Sales spiked last night.
Say it for a higher band
5sudden increase→6sharp increase→7+spike
Synonyms
surge
jump
Easily confused
surge
“There was a spike in electricity demand when the heatwave hit.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Peaks & troughs
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