PLY Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

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ply

[ plahy ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

plied, plying.

to work with or at diligently; employ busily; use:
to ply the needle.
to carry on, practice, or pursue busily or steadily:
to ply a trade.
Synonyms: ,
to treat with or apply to (something) repeatedly (often followed by with ):
to ply a fire with fresh fuel.
to assail persistently:
to ply horses with a whip.
to supply with or offer something pressingly to:
to ply a person with drink.
to address (someone) persistently or urgently, as with questions, solicitations, etc.; importune.
to pass over or along (a river, stream, etc.) steadily or on a regular basis:
boats that ply the Mississippi.

verb (used without object)

plied, plying.

to run or travel regularly over a fixed course or between certain places, as a boat, bus, etc.
to perform one's work or office busily or steadily:
to ply with the oars; to ply at a trade.

ply

[ plahy ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

plural plies.

a thickness or layer.
Automotive. a layer of reinforcing fabric for a tire.
a unit of yarn:
single ply.
one of the sheets of veneer that are glued together to make plywood.
Informal. plywood.
bent, bias, or inclination.

verb (used with object)

plied, plying.

British Dialect. to bend, fold, or mold.

verb (used without object)

plied, plying.

Obsolete. to bend, incline, or yield.

ply

/ ��ɪ /

verb

to carry on, pursue, or work at (a job, trade, etc)
to manipulate or wield (a tool)
to sell (goods, wares, etc), esp at a regular place
usually foll by with to provide (with) or subject (to) repeatedly or persistently
he plied the speaker with questions
he plied us with drink the whole evening
to ply a horse with a whip
intr to perform or work steadily or diligently
to ply with a spade
also intr (esp of a ship) to travel regularly along (a route) or in (an area)
to ply between Dover and Calais
to ply the trade routes

ply

/ ��ɪ /

noun

1. a layer, fold, or thickness, as of cloth, wood, yarn, etc
2. ( in combination )
  four-ply
a thin sheet of wood glued to other similar sheets to form plywood
one of the strands twisted together to make rope, yarn, etc

verb

to twist together (two or more single strands) to make yarn

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

��i�Բ�·�� adverb

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of ply¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English plien, shortened variant of ap(p)lien apply

Origin of ply²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb plien, pleie, plaie “to bend, fold, mold,” from Middle French plier, ployer “to fold, bend,” variant of ployer, Old French pleier, from Latin �� “to fold”; fold ¹

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of ply¹

C14 plye, short for aplye to apply

Origin of ply²

C15: from Old French pli fold, from plier to fold, from Latin ��

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Sheffield Crown Court heard the brothers would intimidate their victims, ply them with drugs and alcohol and lure them to locations where they attacked them.

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He said Zou would meet women socially, or through social media, and then take them back to his flat where he would ply them with drink laced with drugs.

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Fans of the WSL must hope she continues to ply her trade in England.

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The FDA claimed these clinics were plying patients with an illegal drug derived from their stem cells.

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It concluded that not a single vessel was safe and the dive boat industry in Egypt "plies its trade largely unregulated".

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