pry about
1pry — [praı] v past tense and past participle pried present participle prying third person singular pries [Sense: 1,3; Date: 1300 1400; Origin: Origin unknown] [Sense: 2,4; Date: 1800 1900; Origin: prize to force up (17 21 centuries), from prize lever… …
2pry — [[t]pra͟ɪ[/t]] pries, prying, pried 1) VERB If someone pries, they try to find out about someone else s private affairs, or look at their personal possessions. [V into n] We do not want people prying into our affairs... Imelda might think she was …
3pry — verb present participle pryingpast tense pried 1 (I) to try to find out details about someone else s private life in an impolite way: I don t wish to pry, but is it true that you re having problems at home? 2 (transitive always + adv/prep)… …
4pry — verb I m not one to pry, but the goings on at that house are very suspicious Syn: inquire impertinently, be inquisitive, be curious, poke around/about, ferret (about/around), spy, be a busybody; eavesdrop, listen in, tap someone s phone, intrude; …
5pry — I v 1. inquire, question, query, quiz, ask; examine, interrogate, Inf. grill, cross examine; meddle, interfere, intermeddle, Brit. Dial. mell, interlope; intrude, butt in, U.S. Sl. horn in, obtrude; impose, interpose, intervene; mind other people …
6pry — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) v. examine, search, seek, peer, ransack, peek, reconnoiter; raise, force, prize, lever. See curiosity, inquiry, vision. II (Roget s IV) v. 1. [To move with a lever] Syn. push, lift, raise, pull, prize,… …
7pry — 1. v.intr. (pries, pried) 1 (usu. foll. by into) inquire impertinently (into a person s private affairs etc.). 2 (usu. foll. by into, about, etc.) look or peer inquisitively. Derivatives: prying adj. pryingly adv. Etymology: ME prie, of unkn.… …
8beat about — Synonyms and related words: about ship, agonize over, angle for, ask for, back and fill, be at sea, be hard put, be uncertain, bear away, bear off, bear to starboard, beat, beat about for, box off, break, bring about, bring round, cant, cant… …
9nose\ about — • nose about • nose around v. phr. informal To look for something kept private or secret; poke about; explore; inquire; pry. In Grandmother s attic, Sally spent a while nosing about in the old family pictures. The detective was nosing around in… …
10nose about — or[nose around] {v. phr.}, {informal} To look for something kept private or secret; poke about; explore; inquire; pry. * /In Grandmother s attic, Sally spent a while nosing about in the old family pictures./ * /The detective was nosing around in… …
