i Register
In some senses, pry is marked as figuratively, obsolete, US. Watch for register when choosing this word.
pry
/pɹaɪ/
verb 5noun 3name 1
Collocations
5ADJ.
eager, managed, mean, open, other, personal, private, real
VERB + PRY
bar, didn't, don't, iron, tried, try, want
PRY + NOUN
affairs, door, drawer, lid, lore, mary's, opinion, sun
PREP.
about, into, out, up, with
ADV.
finally
Definitions
verb
1
To peer closely and curiously, especially at something closed or not public.
[W]omen haue eagles eyes, / To prie euen to the heart, and why not you?
[…] to elude, thus wrapt in miſt / Of midnight vapor glide obſcure, and prie / In every Buſh and brake, where hap may finde / The Serpent ſleeping, […]
2
To inquire into something that does not concern one; to be nosy; to snoop.
Watch thou, and wake when others be aſleepe, / To prie into the ſecrets of the State, […]
We literary hacks are shameless creatures. I believe there's no secret of the human heart into which we wouldn't pry.
3
To peer at (something) closely; also, to look into (a matter, etc.) thoroughly.
The two ship's corporals went among the sailors by the names of Leggs and Pounce; […] Bland, the master-at-arms, ravished with their dexterity in prying out offenders, used to call them his two right hands.
noun
1
An act of prying; a close and curious look.
With those beauties, scarce discern'd, / Kept with such sweet privacy, / That they seldom meet the eye / Of the little loves that fly / Round about with eager pry.
2
A person who is very inquisitive or nosy; a busybody, a nosey parker.
noun
1
A tool for levering; a crowbar, a lever.
Thesaurus
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
601
[W]omen haue eagles eyes, / To prie euen to the heart, and why not you?
Wiktionary02
[…] to elude, thus wrapt in miſt / Of midnight vapor glide obſcure, and prie / In every Buſh and brake, where hap may finde / The Serpent ſleeping, […]
Wiktionary03
And choice of studious friends had he / Of Bolton's dear fraternity: / […] / [I]n their cells with him did pry / For other lore,—through strong desire / Searching the earth with chemic fire: […]
Wiktionary04
With those beauties, scarce discern'd, / Kept with such sweet privacy, / That they seldom meet the eye / Of the little loves that fly / Round about with eager pry.
Wiktionary05
"Oh! he's going home to Down East," said another; "so far eastward, you know, shippy, that they have to pry up the sun with a handspike."
Wiktionary06
Don't pry into my private life.
Tatoeba · #262479Usage Notes
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