ply

¹ American  

[plahy] / plaɪ /

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.

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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 American  

[plahy] / plaɪ /

noun

• plies
  plural

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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ply ² British  

/ 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

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• plyingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• plies
  plural

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Etymology

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”; see origin at fold ¹

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Explanation

Ply means to work steadily at something. If you've got a lemonade stand and you're busy perfecting your recipe and seeking out customers, you're doing a good job of plying your trade. A ship that regularly travels a particular route plies that route. When someone offers you food or drink, often in hopes of getting something in return, they're plying you: "If I ply you with cake, will you take my dog for a walk?" The noun ply is very different from the verb, referring to layers or strands. Four-ply yarn is made up of four strands. Plywood is made of many layers of wood glued together.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ply plies plied plying

"Typically, if you go through a hailstorm or if you hit a large enough bird, the external ply will crack," says Vermont.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

Tottenham's Lucas Bergvall is also high on Forest's list with the 20-year-old open to leaving Spurs after limited minutes, while he wants to ply as a number six which suits Forest.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Giant container ships ply sea lanes skirting the archipelago's southern tip, where roughly a third of global maritime trade transits between Asia, Africa, the Gulf and the Red Sea.

From Barron's ● May 18, 2026

The demand has given rise to a burgeoning gray market, where wellness spas, multilevel marketers and telehealth websites ply the public with vials of “research grade” peptides labeled “not for human use.”

From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2026

The bread that Clara had attempted to ply her with had done little good.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Sheinbaum's interest in her art had "changed her life," the trained business administrator said in Oaxaca in southern Mexico, where she now plies her art.

From Barron's ● Jan. 2, 2026

One Colombian pilot who plies the Caribbean said crews look for any advantage, from sailing at night or in rough weather, even in storms when Colombian government patrol boats might stay in port.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

It concluded that not a single vessel was safe and the dive boat industry in Egypt "plies its trade largely unregulated".

From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2025

She plies a similar jovial egocentrism as a substitute teacher on “Abbott Elementary,” and both characters are insufferable to the adults in the room.

From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024

The Britannia steam-boat, which plies daily between Toronto and Hamilton, brought us to the mouth of the Credit River in an hour and a half.

From Sketches in Canada, and rambles among the red men by Mrs. (Anna) Jameson

So the U.S. cleared out its veterans and began building around a nucleus of young players who plied their trade in Europe’s toughest leagues.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

At a nearby beach resort, a high-speed Coast Guard vessel plied the waters for two people still missing after swimming in waters that churned violently as the quake struck.

From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026

Next to them, Colbert plied his art slyly, even mildly, but regularly and in ways the nerdiest students of comedy could appreciate.

From Salon ● May 21, 2026

After he was evacuated from the front, doctors stitched up a ruptured intestine, removed part of his colon, and plied him with antibiotics.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 27, 2024

Merchant ships plied to and fro on the blue oceans, and fishermen hauled in brimming nets of cod and tunny, bass and mullet; the forests ran with game, and no children went hungry.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman

Yanet Dominguez, a fifth-grade teacher at the school, said parents had been plying her with questions about the building's structural safety.

From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026

Of course, Na is toying with his audience’s show me anticipation, while plying his trademark humor about rural sensibilities and desperate needling behavior.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

French striker Benzema has been plying his trade in Saudi Arabia since leaving Real Madrid in 2023, spending three years with Al Ittihad.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

The model’s greatest success was unearthing Claudio Braga, a Portuguese forward who was plying his trade in the Norwegian second division.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

“Be firm, Herbert,” I would retort, plying my own pen with great assiduity.

From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

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