Adjacent Words

Pry definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PRY, v.i. [a contracted word, the origin of which is not obvious.]
To peep narrowly; to inspect closely; to attempt to discover something with scrutinizing curiosity, whether impertinently or not; as, to pry into the mysteries of nature, or into the secrets of state.
Nor need we with a prying eye survey
The distant skies to find the milky way.
PRY, n. Narrow inspection; impertinent peeping.
PRY, v.t. To raise or attempt to raise with a lever. This is the common popular pronunciation of prize, in America. The lever used is also called a pry.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a heavy iron lever with one end forged into a wedge [syn: crowbar, wrecking bar, pry, pry bar] v
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" [syn: pry, prise, prize, lever, jimmy]
2: be nosey; "Don't pry into my personal matters!"
3: search or inquire in a meddlesome way; "This guy is always nosing around the office" [syn: intrude, horn in, pry, nose, poke]
4: make an uninvited or presumptuous inquiry; "They pried the information out of him" [syn: pry, prise]

Merriam Webster's

I. intransitive verb (pried; prying) Etymology: Middle English prien Date: 14th century to look closely or inquisitively; also to make a nosy or presumptuous inquiry II. transitive verb (pried; prying) Etymology: probably back-formation from ⁵prize Date: circa 1806 1. to raise, move, or pull apart with a lever ; prize 2. to extract, detach, or open with difficulty <pried the secret out of my sister> III. noun Date: 1823 1. a tool for prying 2. leverage

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. v.intr. (pries, pried) 1 (usu. foll. by into) inquire impertinently (into a person's private affairs etc.). 2 (usu. foll. by into, about, etc.) look or peer inquisitively. Derivatives: prying adj. pryingly adv. Etymology: ME prie, of unkn. orig. 2. v.tr. (pries, pried) US (often foll. by out of, open, etc.) = PRISE. Etymology: PRISE taken as pries 3rd sing. pres.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pry Pry, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pried; p. pr. & vb. n. Prying.] To raise or move, or attempt to raise or move, with a pry or lever; to prize. [Local, U. S. & Eng.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pry Pry, v. i. [OE. prien. Cf. Peer to peep.] To peep narrowly; to gaze; to inspect closely; to attempt to discover something by a scrutinizing curiosity; -- often implying reproach. `` To pry upon the stars.'' --Chaucer. Watch thou and wake when others be asleep, To pry into the secrets of the state. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pry Pry, n. Curious inspection; impertinent peeping.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pry Pry, n. [Corrupted fr. prize a lever. See Prize, n.] A lever; also, leverage. [Local, U. S. & Eng.] Pry pole, the pole which forms the prop of a hoisting gin, and stands facing the windlass.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(pries, prying, pried) 1. If someone pries, they try to find out about someone else's private affairs, or look at their personal possessions. We do not want people prying into our affairs... Imelda might think she was prying... She thought she was safe from prying eyes and could do as she wished. VERB: V into n, V, V-ing 2. If you pry something open or pry it away from a surface, you force it open or away from a surface. They pried open a sticky can of blue paint... I pried the top off a can of chilli... Prying off the plastic lid, she took out a small scoop. = prize VERB: V n with adj, V n prep, V n with adv 3. If you pry something such as information out of someone, you persuade them to tell you although they may be very unwilling to. (mainly AM; in BRIT, usually use prize) ...their attempts to pry the names from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. VERB: V n from/out of n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. n. Peer, peep, search, look closely or narrowly, scrutinize, examine, inspect, question, investigate, be inquisitive.

Moby Thesaurus

Paul Pry, Paul-Pry, Peeping Tom, backseat driver, bar, beam, beat the bushes, bend the eyes, boom, burrow, busybody, cant hook, claw bar, crank, crow, crowbar, delve, delve into, dig, dig into, direct the eyes, disengage, disjoin, divide, eavesdropper, elevate, explore, fathom, fool with, forage, frisk, fulcrumage, get a foothold, get leverage, go into, go through, gossip, handspike, hoist, hunt, indagate, inquirer, inquisitive, inquisitor, intermeddle, intermeddler, investigate, iron crow, jimmy, kibitz, kibitzer, lever, leverage, lift, limb, look, look around, look into, look round, look through, marlinespike, meddle, meddle with, meddler, mess with, monkey with, mouse, nose, nose around, nosy Parker, outrigger, peavey, pedal, peek, peep, peer, peer into, pick up, pinch bar, play peekaboo, plumb, poke, poke around, poke into, prier, prize, probe, pry into, querier, querist, questioner, quidnunc, raise, rear, research, ripping bar, root, rubberneck, rubbernecker, scopophiliac, search, search into, search through, separate, sift, sightseer, smell around, snook, snoop, snooper, sound, spar, spy, take a peep, take up, tamper with, treadle, turn, twist, uphold, uplift, upraise, uprear, voyeur, wedge, wrecking bar, yenta