pry

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, […]

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.

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.

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.

A person who is very inquisitive or nosy; a busybody, a nosey parker.

A tool for levering; a crowbar, a lever.