pry
pronunciation
How to pronounce pry in British English:
UK [praɪ]
How to pronounce pry in American English:
US [praɪ]
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- Noun:
- a heavy iron lever with one end forged into a wedge
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- Verb:
- to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
- be nosey
- search or inquire in a meddlesome way
- make an uninvited or presumptuous inquiry
Word Origin
- pry
- pry: see prize
- pry (v.1)
- "look inquisitively," c. 1300, from prien "to peer in," of unknown origin, perhaps related to late Old English bepriwan "to wink." Related: Pried; prying. As a noun, "act of prying," from 1750; meaning "inquisitive person" is from 1845.
- pry (v.2)
- "raise by force," 1823, from a noun meaning "instrument for prying, crowbar;" alteration of prize (as though it were a plural) in obsolete sense of "lever" (c. 1300), from Old French prise "a taking hold, grasp" (see prize (n.2)).
Example
- 1. During a recent match he tried , unsuccessfully , to pry loose the concrete bleachers .
- 2. And its door that advertisers have been trying to pry through for the past 200 years at least .
- 3. When the entire area is shattered , drive the jackhammer in at an angle and pry up to loosen the first few pieces of flooring .
- 4. The continued u.s. military presence in japan has been a growing concern for the japanese public , and last week it became a lever to pry prime minister yukio hatoyama from office .
- 5. Nick , who had helped his parents remodel their home , organized volunteers to wire-brush soot from the stone fireplace , scrub 75 years of grime off the wood floors , and pry hundreds of staples from the pine walls .