Definitions for: Ply


[n] (usually in combination) one of several layers of cloth or paper or wood as in plywood
[n] one of the strands twisted together to make yarn or rope or thread; often used in combination; "three-ply cord"; "four-ply yarn"
[v] use diligently; "ply your wits!"
[v] provide what is desired or needed, esp. support, food or sustenance; "The hostess provided lunch for all the guests"
[v] wield vigorously; "ply an axe"
[v] travel a route regularly; "Ships ply the waters near the coast"
[v] apply oneself diligently; "Ply one's trade"



Webster (1913) Definition: Ply, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plied; p. pr. & vb. n.
Plying.] [OE. plien, F. plier to fold, to bend, fr. L.
plicare; akin to Gr. ?, G. flechten. Cf. Apply, Complex,
Display, Duplicity, Employ, Exploit, Implicate,
Plait, Pliant, Flax.]
1. To bend. [Obs.]

As men may warm wax with handes plie. --Chaucer.

2. To lay on closely, or in folds; to work upon steadily, or
with repeated acts; to press upon; to urge importunately;
as, to ply one with questions, with solicitations, or with
drink.

And plies him with redoubled strokes --Dryden.

He plies the duke at morning and at night. --Shak.

3. To employ diligently; to use steadily.

Go ply thy needle; meddle not. --Shak.

4. To practice or perform with diligence; to work at.

Their bloody task, unwearied, still they ply.
--Waller.


Ply, v. i.
1. To bend; to yield. [Obs.]

It would rather burst atwo than plye. --Chaucer.

The willow plied, and gave way to the gust.
--L'Estrange.

2. To act, go, or work diligently and steadily; especially,
to do something by repeated actions; to go back and forth;
as, a steamer plies between certain ports.

Ere half these authors be read (which will soon be
with plying hard and daily). --Milton.

He was forced to ply in the streets as a porter.
--Addison.

The heavy hammers and mallets plied. --Longfellow.

3. (Naut.) To work to windward; to beat.


Ply, n. [Cf. F. pli, fr. plier. See Ply, v.]
1. A fold; a plait; a turn or twist, as of a cord.
--Arbuthnot.

2. Bent; turn; direction; bias.

The late learners can not so well take the ply.
--Bacon.

Boswell, and others of Goldsmith's contemporaries, .
. . did not understand the secret plies of his
character. --W. Irving.

The czar's mind had taken a strange ply, which it
retained to the last. --Macaulay.

Note: Ply is used in composition to designate folds, or the
number of webs interwoven; as, a three-ply carpet.

Synonyms: cater, provide, run, supply

See Also: accommodate, apply, board, dish, dish out, dish up, do, drench, employ, feed, fill, fix up, fulfil, fulfill, give, gratify, gutter, handle, help, horse, indulge, jaunt, layer, meet, nourish, nurture, pander, perform, pimp, power, procure, regale, satisfy, serve, serve up, shower, staff, strand, sustain, travel, treat, trip, underlay, use, utilise, utilize, wield

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