Link Centre Dictionary

pry

UK/pɹaɪ/ US/ˈpraɪ/ fairly common us
verb (4) noun (1)

verb

1.

to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open

  • “The burglar jimmied the lock”
  • “Raccoons managed to pry the lid off the garbage pail”
Synonyms
2.

be nosey

  • “Don”
3.

search or inquire in a meddlesome way

  • “This guy is always nosing around the office”
Synonyms
4.

make an uninvited or presumptuous inquiry

  • “They pried the information out of him”
Synonyms

noun

1.

Origin

The verb is inherited from Middle English prien, pryen (“to look closely, peer into, pry, spy”) [and other forms], from Old English *prīwan, *prēowian (“to look narrowly, to squint at”), attested by Old English beprīwan, beprēwan (“to wink”); further etymology unknown, but probably akin to Old English *prēowot (“closing of the eyes”), attested only in combination - compare prēowthwīl (“blink or twinkling of an eye, moment”), princ (“a wink”): see prink. The noun is derived from the verb.

Phrases

  • Paul Pry
  • pry bar

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.