pry
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To peer closely and curiously.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
pryIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɹaɪ
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
intransitive
To peer closely and curiously, especially at something closed or not public.
intransitivefiguratively
To inquire into something that does not concern one; to be nosy; to snoop.
To use leverage to open, raise, or widen (something); to prise or prize.
figuratively
Usually followed by out (of): to draw out or get (information, etc.) with effort.
noun
An act of prying; a close and curious look.
A person who is very inquisitive or nosy; a busybody, a nosey parker.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To peer closely and curiously, especially at something closed or not public.
Used this way, pry 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
- No strong connotation
- 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 pry
- “Don't pry into my personal matters!”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.
A heavy iron lever with one end forged into a wedge.
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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.