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pry
11 dictionary results for: pry
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
pry1       [prahy] Pronunciation Key verb, pried, pry·ing, noun, plural pries.
–verb (used without object)
1.to inquire impertinently or unnecessarily into something: to pry into the personal affairs of others.
2.to look closely or curiously; peer; peep.
–noun
3.an impertinently inquisitive person.
4.an act of prying.
[Origin: 1275–1325; ME pryen, prien < ?]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
pry2       [prahy] Pronunciation Key verb, pried, pry·ing, noun, plural pries.
–verb (used with object)
1.to move, raise, or open by leverage.
2.to get, separate, or ferret out with difficulty: to pry a secret out of someone; We finally pried them away from the TV.
–noun
3.a tool, as a crowbar, for raising, moving, or opening something by leverage.
4.the leverage exerted.
[Origin: 1800–10; back formation from prize3, taken as a pl. n. or 3rd pers. sing. verb]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pry 1       (prī)  Pronunciation Key 
intr.v.   pried (prīd), pry·ing, pries (prīz)
To look or inquire closely, curiously, or impertinently: was always prying into the affairs of others.

n.   pl. pries (prīz)
  1. The act of prying.
  2. An excessively or impertinently inquisitive person.


[Middle English prien.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pry 2       (prī)  Pronunciation Key 
tr.v.   pried (prīd), pry·ing, pries (prīz)
  1. To raise, move, or force open with a lever.
  2. To obtain with effort or difficulty: pried a confession out of the suspect.

n.   pl. pries (prīz)
Something, such as a crowbar, that is used to apply leverage.


[Alteration of prize3.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pry  (1)
"look inquisitively," 1307, from prien "to peer in," of unknown origin, perhaps from O.E. bepriwan "to wink."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pry  (2)
"raise by force," 1823 (originally also a noun, "an instrument for prying, a crowbar"), alteration of prize (as though it were a plural) in obsolete sense of "lever" (c.1300), from O.Fr. prise "a taking hold, grasp" (see prize (n.2)).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
pry

noun
1. a heavy iron lever with one end forged into a wedge [syn: crowbar] 

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" 
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] 
4. make an uninvited or presumptuous inquiry; "They pried the information out of him" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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 Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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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 Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Pry

Pry\, n. Curious inspection; impertinent peeping.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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