they ply

  • 1ply — [plaɪ] verb plied PTandPP JOURNALISM 1. [transitive] to sell something: • 60 retailers were plying their products on the radio. 2. ply your trade to work at your job or business: • two outdoor …

    Financial and business terms

  • 2Ply — Ply, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Plied}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Plying}.] [OE. plien, F. plier to fold, to bend, fr. L. plicare; akin to Gr. ?, G. flechten. Cf. {Apply}, {Complex}, {Display}, {Duplicity}, {Employ}, {Exploit}, {Implicate}, {Plait}, {Pliant},… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3ply with — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms ply with : present tense I/you/we/they ply with he/she/it plies with present participle plying with past tense plied with past participle plied with 1) ply someone with something to keep giving someone a lot… …

    English dictionary

  • 4ply — I UK [plaɪ] / US noun two ply/three ply etc used as a measurement of the number of layers in toilet paper or plywood; used as a measurement of the number of strands in wool, rope, string etc II UK [plaɪ] / US verb Word forms ply : present tense… …

    English dictionary

  • 5ply (someone) with (something) — to give someone a lot of something. We were plied with coffee, doughnuts, and refreshments. He plied me with liquor, hoping to get me drunk. Usage notes: often used in the form ply someone with questions to ask someone a lot of questions: Anxious …

    New idioms dictionary

  • 6ply — v. 1) (d; intr.) ( to travel ) to ply between (these ships ply between the two cities) 2) (d; tr.) ( to provide ) to ply with (they plied him with liquor) * * * [plaɪ] (d; intr.) ( to travel ) to ply between (these ships ply between the two… …

    Combinatory dictionary

  • 7ply — 1 verb past tense and past participle plied 1 (intransitive always + adv/prep, transitive) literary if a vehicle or boat plies between two places or across a place it makes that journey regularly (+ between/across etc): Small fishing boats plied… …

    Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • 8ply — English has two distinct words ply, although ultimately they are related. The one meaning ‘fold, twist, layer’ [14], now mainly found in plywood [20] and in combinations such as twoply and three ply, comes from Old French pli, a derivative of the …

    The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • 9ply — English has two distinct words ply, although ultimately they are related. The one meaning ‘fold, twist, layer’ [14], now mainly found in plywood [20] and in combinations such as twoply and three ply, comes from Old French pli, a derivative of the …

    Word origins

  • 10ply sb with sth — UK US ply sb with sth Phrasal Verb with ply({{}}/plaɪ/ verb ► to keep giving a person something in order to persuade them to do something: »They use marketing tricks such as plying consumers with special discounts to get them to shop early …

    Financial and business terms