fry

¹ American  

[frahy] / fraɪ /

verb (used with object)

fried, frying

1. to cook in a pan or on a griddle over direct heat, usually in fat or oil.

2. Slang. to execute by electrocution in an electric chair.

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verb (used without object)

fried, frying

1. to undergo cooking in fat or oil.

2. Slang. to die by electrocution in an electric chair.

noun

plural

fries

1. a dish of something fried.

2. a piece of french-fried potato.

3. a party or gathering at which the chief food is fried, frequently outdoors.

   a fish fry.

fry ² American  

[frahy] / fraɪ /

noun

plural

fry, fry, fries

1. a young fish.

   a salmon fry.

2. a young animal of certain other kinds, as frogs and oysters.

3. a person, especially a young or unimportant one.

   The prime minister had to bank on the cooperation of lesser fry.

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Fry ³ American  

[frahy] / fraɪ /

noun

1. Christopher, 1907–2005, English playwright.

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fry ¹ British  

/ fraɪ /

verb

1. to cook or be cooked in fat, oil, etc, usually over direct heat

2. informal (intr) to be excessively hot

3. slang to kill or be killed by electrocution, esp in the electric chair

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noun

1. a dish of something fried, esp the offal of a specified animal

   pig's fry

2. a social occasion, often outdoors, at which the chief food is fried

3. informal the act of preparing a mixed fried dish or the dish itself

Fry ² British  

/ fraɪ /

noun

1. Christopher . 1907–2005, English dramatist; author of the verse dramas A Phoenix Too Frequent (1946), The Lady's Not For Burning (1948), and Venus Observed (1950)

2. Elizabeth . 1780–1845, English prison reformer and Quaker

3. Roger Eliot . 1866–1934, English art critic and painter who helped to introduce the postimpressionists to Britain. His books include Vision and Design (1920) and Cézanne (1927)

4. Stephen ( John ). born 1957, British writer, actor, and comedian; his novels include The Liar (1991) and The Stars' Tennis Balls (2000)

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fry ³ British  

/ fraɪ /

plural noun

1. the young of various species of fish

2. the young of certain other animals, such as frogs

3. young children See also small fry

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Other Word Forms

• fryable adjective

Etymology

Origin of fry¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; 1925–30 fry ¹ for def. 2; Middle English frien, from Anglo-French, Old French frire, from Latin frīgere “to roast”

Origin of fry²

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English frie, fry “seed, descendant,” perhaps from Old Norse frjō “seed”; cognate with Swedish frö, Gothic fraiw “seed”

Example Sentences

At the rate things are heating up on Earth, threatening to fry us alive sooner than later, this scheme could supposedly reverse or slow the damage we’ve done.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

But Sokolov and Litvak leave these few real-world thematic threads dangling as they have bigger fish to fry — or pigs to roast.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Such small fry could easily flail or fail.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

The growers' network claims that in the past two years, China and India, the world's two leading producers, have "increased their frozen French fry exports to neighbouring countries tenfold," while EU exports declined.

From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026

Several of the people I met weren't actually related but had been at the fish fry on the day of the crime.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• sauté