pry

[ prahy ]

/ praɪ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pry ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), pried, pry·ing.

to inquire impertinently or unnecessarily into something: to pry into the personal affairs of others.

to look closely or curiously; peer; peep.

noun, plural pries.

an impertinently inquisitive person.

an act of prying.

Nearby words

prusso-danish war, prut, pruta, prutah, prw, pry, pryderi, pryer, prying, prynne, prypyat'

Origin of pry

1275–1325; Middle English pryen, prien < ?

Definition for pry (2 of 2)

pry

[ prahy ]

/ praɪ /

verb (used with object), pried, pry·ing.

to move, raise, or open by leverage.

to get, separate, or ferret out with difficulty: to pry a secret out of someone; We finally pried them away from the TV.

noun, plural pries.

a tool, as a crowbar, for raising, moving, or opening something by leverage.

the leverage exerted.

Origin of pry

1800–10; back formation from prize³, taken as a plural noun or 3rd person singular verb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pry

Knapp hopes she can pry open some of those doors for people.
Is the Christian Music Industry Softening on Gays?|Matthew Paul Turner|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Others want to pry it out and have two votes, one on government funding and one on the Syria dough.
Will the House GOP Stop the War on ISIS?|Michael Tomasky|September 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Among them were the persistent efforts of a single congressman to pry out of the Pentagon the true costs of running Guantanamo.
Congress Cooperates, Obama Pushes Hard, and Closing Gitmo Has a Chance|Daniel Klaidman|December 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Andrew lifts the roof of the first house and his dad uses a small metal hook to pry the first wall of honeycombs out of the hive.
Honey Harvest at the Waldorf Astoria’s Beehives|Josh Dzieza|August 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST

These other benign interests are being used to pry open the door for all of these other uses.
Sen. Jerry Moran Advocates Drones for Agriculture|Miranda Green|July 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He would have liked to have taken one with him for investigation, but it was out of the question to pry it off that scaled limb.
Star Born|Andre Norton
What followed upon that was not communicated to her protectress, nor do I care to pry.
Rest Harrow|Maurice Hewlett
I do not seek to pry into concerns which are not mine, but I would earnestly ask if some other arrangement be not possible?
Roland Cashel|Charles James Lever
It stuck fast, so Senator Morgan pushed his fork quite under it, and tried again and again to pry it up.
Among the Humorists and After Dinner Speakers, Vol. I|Various
They only gossip and pry into their neighbours' affairs and make mischief.
From One Generation to Another|Henry Seton Merriman

British Dictionary definitions for pry (1 of 2)

pry

/ (praɪ) /

verb pries, prying or pried

(intr often foll by into) to make an impertinent or uninvited inquiry (about a private matter, topic, etc)

noun plural pries

the act of prying

a person who pries

Word Origin for pry

C14: of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for pry (2 of 2)

pry

/ (praɪ) /

verb pries, prying or pried

to force open by levering

US and Canadian to extract or obtain with difficultythey had to pry the news out of him

Equivalent term (in Britain and other countries): prise

Word Origin for pry

C14: of unknown origin

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