ply

1 of 3

verb (1)

plied; plying

transitive verb

1
a
: to use or wield diligently
busily plying his pen
b
: to practice or perform diligently
ply a trade
2
: to keep furnishing or supplying something to
plied us with liquor
3
a
: to make a practice of rowing or sailing over or on
the boat plies the river
b
: to go or travel regularly over, on, or through
jets plying the skies

intransitive verb

1
: to apply oneself steadily
2
: to go or travel regularly

ply

2 of 3

noun

plural plies
1
a
: one of several layers (as of cloth) usually sewn or laminated together
b
: one of the strands in a yarn
c
: one of the veneer sheets forming plywood
d
: a layer of a paper or cardboard
2

ply

3 of 3

verb (2)

plied; plying

transitive verb

: to twist together
ply two single yarns

Examples of ply in a Sentence

Verb (1) she plied all of her charm and intelligence to convince everyone to volunteer as tutors Noun a single ply of fabric since taking a ply to French burgundies, he's hardly even looked at anything else in the wine store Verb (2) two single yarns were plied together to get the fabric that smooth, firm feel
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
This dynamic—in which markets lowball ambitious movies, and streaming platforms ply audiences with algorithmic chaff—leaves little room for both enthusiasm and good-faith challenges. Elena Saavedra Buckley, The New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2024 Tisci was succeeded by British designer Clare Waight Keller, who largely plied a tasteful, aristocratic brand of fashion occasionally spiked with toughness or subversion — a touch of latex here, a giant wing-like backpack there. Miles Socha, WWD, 9 Sep. 2024
Noun
The interior is finished in timber and ply, and looks attractive and light-filled. Adam Williams, New Atlas, 21 Oct. 2024 The interior is accessed by a glass sliding door and has oak flooring and birch ply walls, with a floorspace of only 12.5 sq m (almost 135 sq ft), all of which is arranged on one floor. Adam Williams, New Atlas, 5 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ply 

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English plien "to put on, around or over, use," aphetic form of aplien, applien "to join, combine, use for a certain purpose, apply"

Noun

borrowed from French pli "fold, pleat, crease," going back to Old French plei, pli "joint in armor, fold," noun derivative from pleier, plier "to fold, bend" — more at ply entry 3

Verb (2)

Middle English plien "to bend, fold, be capable of bending, be flexible, make submissive, be submissive," borrowed from Anglo-French pleier, plaier, ploier, plier "to fold, bend, (intransitive) bend, bow down, sag" (also continental Old French), going back to Latin plicāre "to fold, bend," back-formation from -plicāre in compounds such as applicāre "to bring into contact (with)," complicāre "to fold together," explicāre "to free from folds, straighten," implicāre "to fold about itself, entwine," replicāre "to fold back on itself," formed from a stem *-plec-, probably a variant, without the formative -t-, of the stem of plectere "to plait, twine," going back to Indo-European *pleḱ-t-, whence also Germanic *flehtan- "to braid, plait" (whence Old Saxon & Old High German flehtan "to plait, weave together," Old Icelandic flétta; in nominal derivation Old English flehta "wickerwork," flohtenfōte "web-footed," Gothic flahta "braid"), Old Church Slavic pletǫ, plesti "to weave (intrigues)"; from *pleḱ- alone in Greek plékein "to plait, braid, weave," with nominal derivatives in Greek plokḗ "weaving," plókos "braid, lock," Sanskrit praśna- "turban" and perhaps Avestan ərəzatō.frašna- "having a golden helmet/coat of mail"

Note: Latin plicāre developed regularly to Old French pleier, later ploier (Modern French ployer "to bend, bow"). The parallel medieval French verb plier (Modern French plier "to fold") arose by analogy with verbs such as prier "to ask," from Latin precārī, which had variants with -i- and -ei- depending on where stress fell on inflected forms, leading to generalization of one or the other form throughout the paradigm. In the case of pleier/ploier, the invasive form pli- first appeared under stress and later spread to unstressed forms. Older ploier was never displaced, however, and the maintenance of both forms lead to two independent verbs with slightly different senses. — In addition to forming the base of -plicāre in applicāre (see apply), complicāre (see complicate entry 2), explicāre (see explicate), implicāre (see implicate, imply), replicāre (see replicate entry 1, reply entry 1), the Latin stem *plec- may also be the second element of nominal compounds such as duplic-. duplex "folded double, having two parts" (see duplex entry 1), simplic-, simplex "consisting of one element" (see simple entry 1), etc. Ernout and Meillet (Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine) refer to -plicāre as an "intensive" ("un intensif") relative to plectere. Slavic *pletǫ (in the Old Church Slavic form cited above) must go back to *plek-t-, as the root with the palatovelar would result in an unattested *plestǫ. Alternatively, pletǫ could represent *ple-t- and be allied with Germanic *falþan- (see fold entry 1); this is the suggestion of Ernout and Meillet.

First Known Use

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun

1532, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (2)

circa 1909, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ply was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near ply

Cite this Entry

“Ply.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ply. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

ply

1 of 2 verb
plied; plying
1
a
: to use steadily or forcefully
ply an ax
b
: to work at
ply one's trade
2
: to keep furnishing or supplying something to
ply a guest with food
3
: to go or travel regularly

ply

2 of 2 noun
plural plies
: one of the folds, layers, or strands of which something (as yarn or plywood) is made up
Etymology

Verb

Middle English plien, a shortened form of applien "to apply"

Noun

Middle English plien "to fold," from early French plier (same meaning), from Latin plicare (same meaning)

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