ply

¹

[plahy]

verb (used with object)

plied, plying 

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 bywith ).

   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, plying 

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, plying 

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

verb (used without object)

plied, plying 

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

ply

¹

/ 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 us with drink the whole evening

   to ply a horse with a whip

   he plied the speaker with questions

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

ply

²

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• plyingly 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

C14 plye, short for aplye to _apply

Origin of ply²

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

Example Sentences

Both girls had "deeply troubled home lives" and were plied with drugs, alcohol and cigarettes and given places to stay by the men, the court was told.

From BBC

The football team that today plies its trade in Anaheim Stadium is known as the Los Angeles Rams.

From Los Angeles Times

Like any young boxer, he would ply his trade in smoky social clubs and was soon standing out as something special.

From BBC

This system, the group says, also obscures the identity of the real owner, which helps dubious owners ply ships.

From BBC

“The Gilded Age” has always plied high-toned melodrama as its chief asset, but Season 3 ripens the starched formality of previous episodes into succulence.

From Salon