spiking a temperature

Temperature shooting up

Spiking a temperature describes a sudden, sharp rise in body temperature, typically associated with fever during illness.

The phrase treats fever like a graph line that shoots upward dramatically rather than climbing gradually.

The child was fine at dinner but started spiking a temperature around bedtime.

Medical contexts use this to distinguish abrupt fevers from slow-building ones, often suggesting the body is fighting an acute infection.

Related

cold compress · infection · flu season · running hot · hyperthermia · heatstroke · inflammation · shivering · medical evaluation · diaphoresis · breaking a sweat · hydration · bed rest · immune response · endocrine disorder · vasodilation · rest · chills

Opposites
rate of temperature change

spiking a temperaturesteady climb

slow burn

direction of temperature change

spiking a temperaturebottoming out

Reaching the lowest level

plummeting · crashing · plunging · nosediving · rapid cooling

thermal stability

spiking a temperatureplateauing

Ceasing to rise

equilibrating · leveling off · thermal equilibrium · thermoregulating · normalizing

Family

spike, spikes, spiked, spikiness, temperature, temperatures, temperate, temper, temperament

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Top 500,000
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Used worldwide · Timeless · Negative · Rated G