What does "ply" mean?
A layer of material.
Ply
/plaɪ/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A layer of material.
- Grammar: ply is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: about ship, apply, apply pressure, back and fill.
- Useful contrasts: give up, idle, neglect.
- Usage evidence: He spake, 'twas done; and Palinurus first / turns the prow leftward: to the left we ply / with oars and sail, and shun the rocks accurst.
How to use "ply"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "ply" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "ply" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "ply" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "ply" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "ply" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "about ship" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "ply", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A layer of material. countable, uncountable
"two-ply toilet paper"
- 2 A bent; a direction.
- 3 (usually in combinations) one of several layers of cloth or paper or wood as in plywood wordnet
- 4 A strand that, twisted together with other strands, makes up rope or yarn. countable, uncountable
"To make the hail rod a rope of straw is the first thing necessary; it must be made of ripe wheat straw, soaked and twisted, plaited with three strand and then with four ply, making twelve strand to the rope."
- 5 one of the strands twisted together to make yarn or rope or thread; often used in combination wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Clipping of plywood. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, colloquial, countable, uncountable
"The compartment ceiling panels are of plastic material backed with ply or hardboard panels."
- 7 In two-player sequential games, a "half-turn" or a move made by one of the players. countable, uncountable
"He proposed to build Deep Purple, a super-computer capable of 24-ply look-ahead for chess."
- 8 A condition, a state. Scotland, countable, uncountable
"You may be ſure, in the ply I was now taking, I had no objection to the propoſal, and was rather a tiptoe for its accompliſhment."
Verb
- 1 To bend; to fold; to mould; (figuratively) to adapt, to modify; to change (a person's) mind, to cause (a person) to submit. obsolete, transitive
"And now when at length the Vineyard has ſhed its late Leaves, and the cold Northwind ſhook from the Groves their Honours; even then the active Swain extends his Cares to the enſuing Year, and cloſe plys the deſolate forſaken Vine, cutting off the ſuperfluous Roots with Saturn's crooked Hook, and forms it by pruning."
- 2 To work at (something) diligently. transitive
"He plied his trade as carpenter for forty-three years."
- 3 use diligently wordnet
- 4 To bend, to flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield (to a force, etc.). intransitive
"The Oak Upbraided the Willow, that it was Weak and Wavering, and gave way to Every Blaſt. […] Some very little while after This Diſpute, it Blew a Violent Storm. The Willow Ply’d, and gave way to the Guſt, and ſtill recover’d it ſelf again, without receiving any Damage: But the Oak was Stubborn, and choſe rather to Break than Bend."
- 5 To wield or use (a tool, a weapon, etc.) steadily or vigorously. transitive
"He plied his ax with bloody results."
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance wordnet
- 7 To press upon; to urge persistently. transitive
"to ply someone with questions or solicitations"
- 8 wield vigorously wordnet
- 9 To persist in offering something to, especially for the purpose of inducement or persuasion. transitive
"to ply someone with drink"
- 10 join together as by twisting, weaving, or molding wordnet
- 11 To travel over (a route) regularly. ambitransitive
"to ply the seven seas"
- 12 travel a route regularly wordnet
- 13 To work diligently. intransitive, obsolete
"[…] Ere halfe theſe Authors be read, which will ſoon be with plying hard, and dayly, they cannot chooſe but be maſters of any ordinary proſe."
- 14 apply oneself diligently wordnet
- 15 To manoeuvre a sailing vessel so that the direction of the wind changes from one side of the vessel to the other; to work to windward, to beat, to tack. intransitive, obsolete
"Weighed anchor about five morn, and plied till about noon, and then anchored. This day, at morn, went about the general to council: the result was, the fleet should ply near, as with convenience, to the Texel, to prevent a conjunction of those ships there with Admiral [Maarten] Tromp; […]"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"He spake, 'twas done; and Palinurus first / turns the prow leftward: to the left we ply / with oars and sail, and shun the rocks accurst."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "ply"?
Common synonyms include: about ship, apply, apply pressure, back and fill, bear away, bear off.
How do you use "ply" in a sentence?
He spake, 'twas done; and Palinurus first / turns the prow leftward: to the left we ply / with oars and sail, and shun the rocks accurst.
How do you pronounce "ply"?
Pronounced /plaɪ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English pleit, plit, plite (“a fold, pleat, wrinkle; braid, strand in a braided cord, ply”), from Anglo-Norman pli, plei, pleit, and Middle French pli, ploy, ply (“a fold, pleat; joint in armour; situation, state”) (modern French pli (“a fold, pleat”)), from plier, ployer (“to bend, fold”), from plicāre (“to bend, fold, roll up”), from Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ- (“to fold, plait, weave”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English plīen, pli, plie (“to bend, fold, mould, shape; to be flexible; to be submissive, humble oneself; to compel someone to submit”), from Anglo-Norman plier, plaier, pleier, ploier, and Middle French plier, ployer (“to bend, fold; to be submissive; to compel someone to submit”) (modern French plier, ployer), from Old French ploiier, pleier (“to fold”), from Latin plicāre (“to fold”); see further at etymology 1. The word is cognate with Catalan plegar (“to bend, fold”), Italian piegare (“to bend, fold, fold up”), Old Occitan plegar, plejar, pleyar (“to fold”) (modern Occitan plegar), Spanish plegar (“to fold”).
Etymology 3
From apply; compare Middle English plīen, pli, plie, pleie (“to place (something) around, on, or over, to cover; to apply, use; to strive”), short for aplīen, applīen (“to combine, join; to attach; to assemble; to use, be of use; to allot; to apply; to inflict; to go; to ply, steer; to comply, submit”), from Old French applier, aplier, aploier (“to bend; to apply”), from Latin applicāre, present active infinitive of applicō (“to apply; to attach, join; to add”), from ad- (“to, towards”) + plicō (“to bend, fold, roll up”); see further at etymology 1.