ply

¹

[ plahy ]

verb (used with object)

, plied, ply·ing.

1. to work with or at diligently; employ busily; use:

   to ply the needle.

2. to carry on, practice, or pursue busily or steadily:

   to ply a trade.

   Synonyms: exercise, follow

3. to treat with or apply to (something) repeatedly (often followed by with ):

   to ply a fire with fresh fuel.

4. to assail persistently:

   to ply horses with a whip.

5. to supply with or offer something pressingly to:

   to ply a person with drink.

6. to address (someone) persistently or urgently, as with questions, solicitations, etc.; importune.
7. 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, ply·ing.

1. to run or travel regularly over a fixed course or between certain places, as a boat, bus, etc.
2. to perform one's work or office busily or steadily:

   to ply with the oars; to ply at a trade.

ply

²

[ plahy ]

noun

, plural plies.

1. a thickness or layer.
2. Automotive. a layer of reinforcing fabric for a tire.
3. a unit of yarn:

   single ply.

4. one of the sheets of veneer that are glued together to make plywood.
5. Informal. plywood.
6. bent, bias, or inclination.

verb (used with object)

, plied, ply·ing.

1. British Dialect. to bend, fold, or mold.

verb (used without object)

, plied, ply·ing.

1. Obsolete. to bend, incline, or yield.

ply

¹

/ plaɪ /

noun

1. 1. a layer, fold, or thickness, as of cloth, wood, yarn, etc
   2. ( in combination )

      four-ply

2. a thin sheet of wood glued to other similar sheets to form plywood
3. one of the strands twisted together to make rope, yarn, etc

verb

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

ply

²

/ plaɪ /

verb

1. to carry on, pursue, or work at (a job, trade, etc)
2. to manipulate or wield (a tool)
3. to sell (goods, wares, etc), esp at a regular place
4. 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

5. intr to perform or work steadily or diligently

   to ply with a spade

6. 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

Other Words From

• plying·ly adverb

Word 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 plicāre “to fold”; fold ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of ply¹

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

Origin of ply²

C14 plye, short for aplye to apply

Example Sentences

The men lured to Buck’s apartment, who were often homeless and addicted, were plied with drugs during the encounters and were often offered extra money if they allowed Buck to inject them with drugs.

From Los Angeles Times

When asked a question, they ply through their database and try to synthesize from it the most probable answer.

From Los Angeles Times

The team plied their subject AI models with questions drawn from a popular collection of more than 8,000 grade school arithmetic problems testing schoolchildren’s understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

From Los Angeles Times

Duncan said three generations of the Stone family plied their trade in photographic media, himself working as the cameraman to King Charles and Queen Camilla, for the BBC, ITV and Sky.

From BBC

They are being plied with novelty merchandise, from foam fingers to fake tan, and are packing into the bars every night to debate the relative merits of the four contenders.

From BBC