pike

/paɪk/

/paɪk/

Other forms: pikes

A pike was a long, spear-like weapon that infantry troops used in the medieval and Renaissance eras. Fighting with a pike while riding a horse required great balance.

The difference between a pike and a spear is that a pike must be held with two hands in order to be thrust in the direction of an enemy fighter. The pointed end of a pike or spear is also known as a pike. It might seem confusing that a pike is also a type of freshwater fish, until you see the pike's sharp, pointed (pike-like) nose. In transportation, pike can refer to a highway. Finally, pike can mean a position in gymnastics or diving in which an athlete bends at the waist with toes pointed. The Old English root, piic, means "point."

Definitions of pike

1. noun

   medieval weapon consisting of a spearhead attached to a long pole or pikestaff; superseded by the bayonet
   types:

   halberd

   a pike fitted with an ax head

   partisan, partizan

   a pike with a long tapering double-edged blade with lateral projections; 16th and 17th centuries

   vouge

   a kind of pike used by foot soldiers in the 14th century

   type of:

   arm, weapon, weapon system

   any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
2. noun

   a sharp point (as on the end of a spear)
   type of:

   point

   sharp end
3. noun

   highly valued northern freshwater fish with lean flesh
   types:

   muskellunge

   flesh of very large North American pike; a game fish

   pickerel

   flesh of young or small pike

   type of:

   freshwater fish

   flesh of fish from fresh water used as food
4. noun

   any of several elongate long-snouted freshwater game and food fishes widely distributed in cooler parts of the northern hemisphere
   types:

   Esox lucius, northern pike

   voracious piscivorous pike of waters of northern hemisphere

   Esox masquinongy, muskellunge

   large (60 to 80 pounds) sport fish of North America

   pickerel

   any of several North American species of small pike

   Esox niger, chain pickerel, chain pike

   common in quiet waters of eastern United States

   Esox americanus, barred pickerel, redfin pickerel

   small but gamy pickerel of Atlantic coastal states

   type of:

   percoid, percoid fish, percoidean

   any of numerous spiny-finned fishes of the order Perciformes
5. noun

   a broad highway designed for high-speed traffic
   synonyms: expressway, freeway, motorway, state highway, superhighway, throughway, thruway

   types:

   autobahn

   an expressway in a German-speaking country

   autostrada

   an expressway in an Italian-speaking country

   toll road, turnpike

   an expressway on which tolls are collected

   type of:

   highway, main road

   a major road for any form of motor transport
6. noun

   a position, as in gymnastics or diving, in which the legs are straight while the body is bent forward at the waist and the hands touch the feet or hold the calves
   type of:

   attitude, position, posture

   the arrangement of the body and its limbs