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Synonyms

pry

1 American  
[prahy] / praɪ /

verb (used without object)

pried, prying

  1. to inquire impertinently or unnecessarily into something.

    to pry into the personal affairs of others.

  2. to look closely or curiously; peer; peep.

noun

plural

pries

  1. an impertinently inquisitive person.

  2. an act of prying.

pry 2 American  
[prahy] / praɪ /

verb (used with object)

pried, prying

  1. to move, raise, or open by leverage.

  2. to get, separate, or ferret out with difficulty.

    to pry a secret out of someone;

    We finally pried them away from the TV.

noun

plural

pries

  1. a tool, as a crowbar, for raising, moving, or opening something by leverage.

  2. the leverage exerted.

pry 1 British  
/ praɪ /

verb

  1. to make an impertinent or uninvited inquiry (about a private matter, topic, etc)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the act of prying

  2. a person who pries

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
pry 2 British  
/ praɪ /

verb

  1. to force open by levering

  2. to extract or obtain with difficulty

    they had to pry the news out of him
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of pry1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English prien, “look about, peep”; further origin unknown

Origin of pry2

First recorded in 1800–10; back formation from prize 3, taken as a plural noun or 3rd person singular verb

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We asked some parenting experts for their tips on how to pry those phones away from their offspring's hands – even if only for a short while.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

France, the U.K. and the Soviet Union worked together in mine-sweeping operations to pry the chokepoint open.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026

When the agents failed to pry the sofa bed open, Maltzan told them it was stuck, but they could “shoot through the couch” if they thought she was hiding anything.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025

She didn’t want to pry, she said, but what exactly happened?

From Salon • Aug. 17, 2025

The octopus was flopped and all forlorn on the bottom sand, trying to pry open a scallop.

From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.