pry

1 of 3

verb (1)

pried; prying

intransitive verb

: to look closely or inquisitively
also : to make a nosy or presumptuous inquiry

pry

2 of 3

verb (2)

pried; prying

transitive verb

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

pry

3 of 3

noun

1
: a tool for prying
2

Examples of pry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
As the swing shift gets underway, Emmett Jaime pries inked plates off cylinders. Thomas Curwen, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2024 Could this be the year Johannesburg pries visitors away from Cape Town with a cool new city hotel and a dynamic dining scene, or when sunseekers take another look at Mauritius instead of the Maldives? Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Nov. 2023 Investigators discovered a pry bar and other burglary tools at the gas station and were looking into whether the suspects were connected to more than a dozen other burglaries in the county. Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 23 Jan. 2024 Criminal damage An unknown subject used a pry tool to open the driver’s side door of a 2022 Hyundai Sonata parked on the 5500 block of Lincoln Avenue and the rear driver’s window was broken, though nothing appeared to be missing, police said. Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2023 This downright unlikeable protagonist snoops and pries, disobeys her parents, documents cruel observations about her closest pals. Nell McShane Wulfhart, Washington Post, 4 Aug. 2023 There’s also a butt-end pry bar and a notch on the spine of the blade for hooking cordage or scoring materials. Justin Park, Popular Mechanics, 7 July 2023 Burglary There was a burglary to a house trailer in the 7300 block of McCormick Boulevard on Jan. 8 in which an unknown person used a pry tool to pry open a door on a mobile trailer. Chicago Tribune, 27 Feb. 2023 Deputies responding to a burglar alarm at Throwback Bar & Grill, 25940 Dixie Highway, May 27 found the front door partly open with pry marks, bar stools and trash cans knocked over and a slot machine pried open. Dennis Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 14 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pry.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English prien

Verb (2)

probably back-formation from prize entry 5

First Known Use

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

circa 1806, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1823, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of pry was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near pry

Cite this Entry

“Pry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pry. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pry

1 of 3 verb
pried; prying
: to look closely : peer
especially : to search curiously into other people's affairs

pry

2 of 3 verb
pried; prying
1
: to raise, move, or pull apart with or as if with a lever
pry off a tight lid
2
: to force out, detach, or open with difficulty
could not pry a secret out of her

pry

3 of 3 noun
: a tool for prying
Etymology

Verb

Middle English prien "to look at closely"

Verb

an altered form of prize "to move with or as if with a lever"

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