spikelet

UK: /ˈspaɪklɪt/ US: (spīk′lit)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

spike•let  (spīk′lit), n. [Bot.]

1. Botany a small or secondary spike in grasses;
   one of the flower clusters, the unit of inflorescence, consisting of two or more flowers and subtended by one or more glumes variously disposed around a common axis.

• spike² + -let 1785–95

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

spikelet / ˈspaɪklɪt/ noun

1. the unit of a grass inflorescence, typically consisting of two bracts (glumes) surrounding one or more florets, each of which is itself surrounded by two bracts
   See lemma1
2. the small inflorescence of plants of other families, esp the sedges