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

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

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

The instant that Oklahoma City delivers the knockout blow to L.A., he will be free to ply his trade wherever he sees fit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 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

And it will rely on a group of primarily Dutch recruits who ply their trade in the Netherlands and as far afield as Hungary and Saudi Arabia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026

The 21-year-old, part of a world-class Afghan spin attack led by captain Rashid Khan, has travelled the globe to ply his trade in T20 leagues.

From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026

Then, once she’d finished quietly dabbing away tears, I would ply her with questions.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

Twenty-three are in Europe, but only Villarreal defender Logan Costa plies his trade in any of the continent's top five leagues.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

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

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

A little below where Charon now plies his ferry were the Chesterton Locks, and in the reach above this starting-posts seem to have been fixed for the various boats.

From Rowing by Rudolf Chambers Lehmann

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

But Venegas’ parents were artists above all — photographers specifically, a trade now plied by Yvonne — and as such, romantics at heart and in practice.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026

The average age of Pitino’s Red Storm is nearly 21, including former pros who have plied their trade as far afield as Spain and Hungary.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026

Suli seers wore the jackal mask when they plied their trade and looked into a person’s fate.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

While Messi has spent his entire life playing for the world’s grandest teams—Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Argentina—Vozinha had only turned professional at 25, plying his trade in Angola, Moldova and Cyprus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

Navy could escort ships through the strait, and he has ordered an arm of the federal government to offer insurance to shipping lines plying those waters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026

Some players have moved to different countries like Taifour, who departed Al Merrikh for Libya and is now plying his trade in Tunisia.

From Barron's ● Dec. 30, 2025

Ridley Scott’s first foray into this world operates like a claustrophobic thriller, plying stretches of unsettling quiet with jump scares within a labyrinth of sweating pipes, sweaty humans and darkness.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2025

To our right the choppy waters of the Artibonite rushed away, and to our left were a few small vessels plying the placid blue waters.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French