Words · Familiar
plying
/pˈlaɪɪŋ/ · 6 letters · 6 distinct letters
A form of ply.
- verb
give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance
The hostess provided lunch for all the guests
- verb
apply oneself diligently
Ply one's trade
- verb
travel a route regularly
Ships ply the waters near the coast
- verb
join together as by twisting, weaving, or molding
ply fabric
- verb
wield vigorously
ply an axe
- noun
one of the strands twisted together to make yarn or rope or thread; often used in combination
three ply cord
Word history
History of ply
From Middle English pleit, plit, plite (“a fold, pleat, wrinkle; braid, strand in a braided cord, ply”), from Anglo Norman pli, plei, pleit, and Middle French pli, ploy, ply (“a fold, pleat; joint in armour; situation, state”) (modern French pli (“a fold, pleat”)), from plier, ployer (“to bend, fold”), from Latin plicāre (“to bend, fold, roll up”), from Proto Indo European *pleḱ (“to fold, plait, weave”).
From Wiktionary, under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0
Why this word counts
- Where it comes from
- Listed in the English Speller Database at size 35: the core list of everyday words.
- How common it is
- Used about once in every million words.
- In the spelling bee
- Daily answer A standard word with a definition we can show, so it can be a daily answer.