dogspike

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noun

A spike with a slightly altered head shape for easier extraction when the spike has become too loose in the sleeper.

OriginEnglish spike ← Middle English dogge ← Old English *dogga →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

noundogspike (plural dogspikes)

plural dogspikes · alternative dog spike

  1. rail transportA spike with a slightly altered head shape for easier extraction when the spike has become too loose in the sleeper.

    The full domestic requirements of rails, sleepers, dogspikes and screwspikes, tie rods, bearing plates, and other material required for permanent railways are fully met from indigenous production.

    1972 December 23, “Contours of Progress in Engineering Industry”, in Economic and Commercial News, volume 2, number 52, page 15

Origin

  1. Old English*dogga
  2. Middle Englishdogge
  3. Englishdog
  4. Englishspike
  5. Englishdogspike

From dog + spike.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

dogspike. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dogspike

MLA

“dogspike.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dogspike. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dogspike,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dogspike.

Source: dogspike on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.