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ply

1
[ plahy ]
/ plaɪ /
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See synonyms for: ply / plies / plying on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), plied, ply·ing.
verb (used without object), plied, ply·ing.
to run or travel regularly over a fixed course or between certain places, as a boat, bus, etc.
to perform one's work or office busily or steadily: to ply with the oars; to ply at a trade.
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Origin of ply

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English plien, shortened variant of ap(p)lien apply

OTHER WORDS FROM ply

ply·ing·ly, adverb

Other definitions for ply (2 of 2)

ply2
[ plahy ]
/ plaɪ /
noun, plural plies.
verb (used with object), plied, ply·ing.
British Dialect. to bend, fold, or mold.
verb (used without object), plied, ply·ing.
Obsolete. to bend, incline, or yield.

Origin of ply

2
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 fold1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to ply

dispense, employ, exercise, exert, follow, function, handle, maneuver, manipulate, practice, pursue, swing, throw, utilize, wield, carry on, put out

How to use ply in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ply (1 of 2)

ply1
/ (plaɪ) /
verb plies, plying or plied (mainly tr)
to carry on, pursue, or work at (a job, trade, etc)
to manipulate or wield (a tool)
to sell (goods, wares, etc), esp at a regular place
(usually foll by with) to provide (with) or subject (to) repeatedly or persistentlyhe plied us with drink the whole evening; to ply a horse with a whip; he plied the speaker with questions
(intr) to perform or work steadily or diligentlyto ply with a spade
(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

Word Origin for ply

C14 plye, short for aplye to apply

British Dictionary definitions for ply (2 of 2)

ply2
/ (plaɪ) /
noun plural plies
  1. a layer, fold, or thickness, as of cloth, wood, yarn, etc
  2. (in combination)four-ply
a thin sheet of wood glued to other similar sheets to form plywood
one of the strands twisted together to make rope, yarn, etc
verb (tr)
to twist together (two or more single strands) to make yarn

Word Origin for ply

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