mike

Etymology 1

Alteration of mic, clipping of microphone. Attested since 1927.

noun

1. (informal) A microphone.
   1970, Theodore Sturgeon and Edward H. Waldo, "The Pod in the Barrier", in A Touch of Strange, Ayer Publishing, →ISBN, page 28, "Then I say to the recording, for the record," I barked, right into the mike, […]
   1981, John Swaigen, How to Fight for What’s Right: The Guide to Public Interest Law, James Lorimer & Company, →ISBN, pages 118–119, Obviously, one must watch what one says in the vicinity of a microphone. More than one person has made a “private” statement in the presence of an open mike.
   2007, John Sellers, Perfect from Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 85, When the haggard bartender informed us that there would be an open-mike event later in the evening, I got my first sense that not everyone in Manchester cared about the music the city has produced.

verb

1. To microphone; to place one or more microphones (mikes) on.
   1994 September, Jim Gaines, transcribed in Alan di Perna, "Step Lively: Recalling the recording process of SRV’s IN STEP with album producer Jim Gaines", in Guitar World Magazine, reprinted in Guitar World Presents Stevie Ray Vaughan: Stevie Ray In His Own Words, Hal Leonard (1997), →ISBN, page 81, “And sometimes I’d just have to mike the room. You could run into some weird phasing problems with the individual mics because the speakers were all reacting differently.”
   1996, J.R. Robinson, quoted in Mark Huntly Parsons, The Drummer’s Studio Survival Guide: How to get the best possible drum tracks on any recording project, Hal Leonard, →ISBN, page 72, He knows me, I know him, and I know how he’s going to mike the drums and what selection of mic’s he's going to use.
   2006, Glenn Haertlein, Project Vectus, Lulu, →ISBN, page 108, “Zeb, is everything go on the AV equipment?” I heard Jim ask. ¶ “Yep,” Zeb replied. “I just need to mike him up.” […] “All set,” he said once he clipped the wireless microphone to my shirtfront.
2. To measure using a micrometer.
   1983, Tom S. Wilson, How to Rebuild Your Big-block Chevy, HPBooks, →ISBN, page 98, Measure Valve-Stem Diameter—To be positive about it you’ll have to mike the valve stem with a 1-in. micrometer as explained on pages 100 and 101.

Etymology 2

From translingual Mike, representing the letter m, from English Mike.

noun

1. (international standards) Alternative letter-case form of Mike from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
2. (military, slang) A minute.
   We'll be there in one zero mikes [i.e. ten minutes].

Etymology 3

noun

1. (slang) Short for microgram.
   The beginner's dose may be anywhere from 100 to 250 mikes — micrograms, or millionths of a gram. Most hardened heads need 600 to 800 mikes, and some as many as 1,400 mikes, before they experience any sensation of getting off. 1970, Milton Travers, Each Other's Victims, page 43