ply

ply
[[t]pla͟ɪ[/t]]
plies, plying, plied
1) VERB If you ply someone with food or drink, you keep giving them more of it.

[V n with n] Elsie, who had been told that Maria wasn't well, plied her with food...

[V n with n] The poor priest was plied with drink at a dinner party.

2) VERB If you ply someone with questions, you keep asking them questions.

[V n with n] Giovanni plied him with questions and comments with the deliberate intention of prolonging his stay.

3) VERB If you ply a trade, you do a particular kind of work regularly as your job, especially a kind of work that involves trying to sell goods or services to people outdoors.

[V n] ...the market traders noisily plying their wares...

[V for n] It's illegal for unmarked mini-cabs to ply for hire.

4) VERB If a ship, aircraft, or vehicle plies a route, it makes regular journeys along that route.

[V n] Eighteen boats plied the 1,000 miles of river along a trading route...

[V prep] The brightly-coloured boats ply between the islands.


English dictionary. 2008.

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  • ply — [plaɪ] verb plied PTandPP JOURNALISM 1. [transitive] to sell something: • 60 retailers were plying their products on the radio. 2. ply your trade to work at your job or business: • two outdoor …   Financial and business terms

  • Ply — Ply, n. [Cf. F. pli, fr. plier. See {Ply}, v.] 1. A fold; a plait; a turn or twist, as of a cord. Arbuthnot. [1913 Webster] 2. Bent; turn; direction; bias. [1913 Webster] The late learners can not so well take the ply. Bacon. [1913 Webster]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ply — Ply, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Plied}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Plying}.] [OE. plien, F. plier to fold, to bend, fr. L. plicare; akin to Gr. ?, G. flechten. Cf. {Apply}, {Complex}, {Display}, {Duplicity}, {Employ}, {Exploit}, {Implicate}, {Plait}, {Pliant},… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ply — Ⅰ. ply [1] ► NOUN (pl. plies) 1) a thickness or layer of a folded or laminated material. 2) each of a number of multiple layers or strands of which something is made. ORIGIN French pli fold , from Latin plicare to fold . Ⅱ. pl …   English terms dictionary

  • Ply — Ply, v. i. 1. To bend; to yield. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] It would rather burst atwo than plye. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] The willow plied, and gave way to the gust. L Estrange. [1913 Webster] 2. To act, go, or work diligently and steadily; especially …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ply — ply1 [plī] vt. plied, plying [ME plien < OFr plier < L plicare, to fold < IE base * plek , to entwine > FLAX] Now Rare to bend, twist, fold, or mold vi. Obs. to bend or submit n. pl. plies [MFr pli < the v.] 1 …   English World dictionary

  • ply|er — «PLY uhr», noun. = plier. (Cf. ↑plier) …   Useful english dictionary

  • ply — I verb busy oneself with, carry on, devote oneself to, do work with, employ, engage in, exercere, exercise, exploit, handle, make use of, manipulate, occupy oneself with, operate, persevere at, practice, pursue, put in practice, put into effect,… …   Law dictionary

  • ply — vb *handle, manipulate, wield, swing Analogous words: exercise, *practice, drill: operate, work, function (see ACT vb): manage, direct, control, *conduct …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • ply — [v] use, work at carry on, dispense, employ, exercise, exert, follow, function, handle, maneuver, manipulate, practice, pursue, put out, swing, throw, utilize, wield; concepts 100,225 Ant. be lazy, idle …   New thesaurus

  • ply — am·ply; ap·ply; crum·ply; dim·ply; du·ply; im·ply; mul·ti·ply·ing; pan·o·ply; pim·ply; ply·er; ply·gain; ply·mo·the·an; ply·mo·thi·an; ply; pop·ply; pur·ply; quad·ru·ply; quin·tu·ply; rip·ply; rum·ply; sim·ply; stip·ply; tip·ply; tri·ply;… …   English syllables

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