ply

Word family

Related topics: Water

ply1 /plaɪ/ verb (plied, plying, plies)

1 ply your trade literaryWORK/DO WORK to work at your business, especially buying and selling things on the street 從事工作；〔尤指在街頭〕經營生意

In some areas, drug dealers openly ply their trade on street corners.

某些地區，毒販公然在街角進行交易。

Examples from the Corpus

ply your trade• But then, as a free agent, he must have a warm climate in which to ply his trade.• She is only plying her trade.• But it is up front where the experts ply their trade and both Ian Wright and Les Ferdinand are bouncing with confidence.• There was Captain Show, a seemingly respectable ex-army man, who plied his trade around the Sunningdale area of the moor.• In earlier days a lady barber plied her trade here, Belle Kendal by name.• Complaints Police have received scores of complaints about dealers openly plying their trade in front of small children on street corners.• A number of drug dealers ply their trade in the park.• Tom was not the only preacher plying his trade that day.

2 [intransitiveI, transitiveT always + adverbadv/prepositionprep] writtenTTWTTCTRAVEL if a ship, bus etc plies between two places or across a place, it does that journey regularly 〔船、車等〕定期往返

ply between/across etc

Two ferries ply between Tripoli and Malta every day.

每天有兩艘渡船往返於的黎波裏和馬耳他。

3 ply for hire/trade British EnglishBrETTCWORK/DO WORK to try to get customers or passengers, in order to do business 招攬生意，攬客

Continental airlines ply for trade in the UK.

歐洲大陸的航空公司希望在英國開展業務。

Examples from the Corpus

ply for hire/trade• A two-in-hand waiting opposite, which Lefevre had assumed to be plying for hire, trotted sedately up to the stage door.

4. [transitiveT] old use or literaryUSE/CONSUME to use a tool skilfully 熟練使用〔工具〕

5 ply somebody with something phrasal verbphr v

a) GIVEto keep giving someone large quantities of food or drink 不斷地給〔某人大量食物和飲料〕

The local people plied me with beer, until I could barely move.

當地人一個勁地灌我啤酒，最後我幾乎動彈不了了。

b) ply somebody with questionsASK A QUESTION to keep asking someone questions 不斷向某人提問

Examples from the Corpus

ply with • In their generosity, or relief of getting out of the kitchen, they ply me with bag loads of organic vegetables.• Enchanted, she too watched the sweet-faced boy who was chattering excitedly while his fond father plied him with Carnival cakes.• It became a joke to ply him with half-pints of beer and fantasies about each other's unfitness for battle.• As Crilly can not drive, I ply myself with junk food and coffee, preparing myself for the wheel.• He is assiduous in plying me with melba toast, and has the charm one always associates with a private homosexual.• It was probably the effect of the wine that Giles had plied her with so freely.• Mandy had plied her with tender loving care until the tears had come.• Finally, Mr Hung may ply you with the baked barbecue pork bun.

ply somebody with questions• She had been there before and was very tolerant of the young man plying her with questions.• Ungerer spent a long time plying them with questions.

Examples from the Corpus

ply• He fell in love with and married a princess after plying her father, the sultan, with many valuable gifts.• Mandy had plied her with tender loving care until the tears had come.• But new measures have been taken, and sweeping machines constantly ply the main streets collecting rubbish.• Besides, they often have kids of their own who are plying the same runs on snowboards.• Shall we see commercial sailing vessels ply the seas again?• The steam vessels plying to the island are mentioned.• We had been plied with hospitality so great that no one could go away hungry.

ply between/across etc• There are ferry boats plying between different points, several sandy beaches, lots of yachts and dinghies and windsurfing.

ply2 noun (plural ply) [countableC]

1 a unit for measuring the thickness of thread, rope, plywood etc, based on the number of threads or layers that it has 〔線、繩子等的〕股；〔夾板的〕層

a sweater in four-ply yarn

四股毛線織成的毛衣

Examples from the Corpus