ply
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To work at diligently.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
plyIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈplaɪ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To work at (something) diligently.
Apply oneself diligently
Use diligently
intransitive
To bend, to flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield (to a force, etc.).
transitive
To wield or use (a tool, a weapon, etc.) steadily or vigorously.
transitive
To press upon; to urge persistently.
noun
One of the strands twisted together to make yarn or rope or thread; often used in combination
A bent; a direction.
usually in combinations
One of several layers of cloth or paper or wood as in plywood
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: One of the strands twisted together to make yarn or rope or thread; often used in combination
Used this way, ply is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use ply
- “Ships ply the waters near the coast.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Of or relating to an older kind of automobile tire that had a flexible tread and relatively stiff sidewalls.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.