Pry — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

a heavy iron lever with one end forged into a wedge

to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open; :

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/pɹˈaɪ/

🇬🇧British English

/pɹˈaɪ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/pɹˈaɪ/

1 syllable Say it as /pɹˈaɪ/.

Examples

The burglar jimmied the lock
Raccoons managed to pry the lid off the garbage pail
Don't pry into my personal matters!

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

wrecking bar crowbar lever poke prize jimmy pry bar nose intrude prise horn in

Parts of Speech

noun	a heavy iron lever with one end forged into a wedge
verb	to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open; : “The burglar jimmied the lock”
verb	be nosey “Don't pry into my personal matters!”
verb	search or inquire in a meddlesome way “This guy is always nosing around the office”
verb	make an uninvited or presumptuous inquiry “They pried the information out of him”

Word Forms

pry	verb	to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open; :
pry	noun	a heavy iron lever with one end forged into a wedge
lever	noun	a simple machine that gives a mechanical advantage when given a fulcrum
leverage	noun	the mechanical advantage gained by being in a position to use a lever
jimmy	noun	a short crowbar
prying	noun	offensive inquisitiveness
nose	noun	a natural skill

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

neugierig

ein schwerer Eisenhebel, dessen eines Ende zu einem Keil geschmiedet ist

🇫🇷French

levier

un lourd levier en fer dont une extrémité est forgée en coin

🇪🇸Spanish

palanca

una pesada palanca de hierro con un extremo forjado en forma de cuña

🇮🇹Italian

fare leva

una pesante leva di ferro con un'estremità forgiata a cuneo

🇳🇱Dutch

wrikken

een zware ijzeren hefboom waarvan het ene uiteinde tot een wig is gesmeed

🇵🇹Portuguese

alavanca

uma pesada alavanca de ferro com uma extremidade forjada em cunha

🇷🇺Russian

подглядывать

тяжелый железный рычаг, один конец которого закован в клин

India

🇮🇳Hindi

जिज्ञासा

एक भारी लोहे का लीवर जिसका एक सिरा पच्चर के आकार का होता है

🇮🇳Tamil

அலசி

ஒரு முனையில் ஒரு ஆப்பு போலியான ஒரு கனமான இரும்பு நெம்புகோல்

🇮🇳Kannada

ಇಣುಕು

ಭಾರವಾದ ಕಬ್ಬಿಣದ ಲಿವರ್ ಒಂದು ತುದಿಯನ್ನು ಬೆಣೆಯಾಗಿ ರೂಪಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

പിറുപിറുക്കുക

ഒരു അറ്റത്ത് കെട്ടിയുണ്ടാക്കിയ കനത്ത ഇരുമ്പ് ലിവർ

🇵🇰Urdu

جھانکنا

ایک بھاری لوہے کا لیور جس کے ایک سرے کو ایک پچر میں بنا دیا گیا ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

撬

一端锻造成楔子的重型铁杆

🇯🇵Japanese

こじ開ける

一端がくさび形に鍛造された重い鉄のレバー

🇰🇷Korean

캐내다

한쪽 끝이 쐐기로 단조된 무거운 철제 레버

🇻🇳Vietnamese

nâng lên

một đòn bẩy sắt nặng với một đầu được rèn thành hình nêm

🇹🇭Thai

แงะ

คันโยกเหล็กหนักที่มีปลายด้านหนึ่งหลอมเป็นลิ่ม

🇮🇩Indonesian

membongkar

tuas besi berat yang salah satu ujungnya ditempa menjadi baji

🇵🇭Filipino

sikmurain

isang mabigat na bakal na pingga na ang isang dulo ay huwad sa isang wedge

🇲🇾Malay

mengungkit

tuas besi berat dengan satu hujung ditempa menjadi baji

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

نقب

رافعة حديدية ثقيلة ذات طرف واحد مزورة على شكل إسفين

🇮🇷Persian

فضولی

یک اهرم آهنی سنگین که یک سر آن به شکل یک گوه ساخته شده است

🇹🇷Turkish

gözetlemek

bir ucu kama şeklinde dövülmüş ağır demir kaldıraç

🇮🇱Hebrew

לְחַטֵט

מנוף ברזל כבד עם קצה אחד מחושל לטריז

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'pry'?

The primary meaning of 'pry' is 'a heavy iron lever with one end forged into a wedge'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'pry' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'pry' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'pry' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'pry' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'pry' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'pry' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'pry' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'pry' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'pry' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'pry' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted