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

To be honest, though, since the 40-year bond rally terminated in 2020, investors who ply their trade on the fixed-income side of the ledger have become accustomed to driving under a yellow flag.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 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

With the dead tanker's identity magically resurrected, the zombie ship continues to ply its trade, free from sanctions.

From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026

She will let me talk with her and assist her work, but she turns to stone when I ply her with food.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

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

A steamboat plies regularly upon its waters during the open months, and the Stillwater & White Bear, the St. Paul & Duluth and the Wisconsin Central railroads render it easy of access.

From Fifty Years In The Northwest With An Introduction And Appendix Containing Reminiscences, Incidents And Notes by Folsom, William Henry Carman

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

Like those hoops legends, some plied their trade in eras when the rules and the competition were easier in certain ways, much tougher in others.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025

The boatman plied his homemade nets not far from shore and brought in fat bream and tiger fish.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

He is in many ways the perfect representative of the globe-trotting Sharks, having been born nearly 2,000 miles from Cape Verde in Portugal and plying his trade professionally for Maccabi Tel Aviv.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026

Owners of several vehicles plying the streets rejoiced with symbolic honks and screams, most of them either waving the flag or hanging samples by their car windows.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

In 2023, ships plying the Caspian carried more than 300,000 artillery shells and a million rounds of ammunition from Iran to Russia, according to documents viewed by the Journal at the time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

Portugal great Cristiano Ronaldo once again topped the Forbes highest-paid footballers list for the 2025-26 season, as one of three members of the top 10 plying their trade in Saudi Arabia.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2025

Father sat atop the coach with the driver, who was plying his whip.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine