How to Use ply in a Sentence

ply

1 of 2 verb
  • Jobs plied his own connections.
    — CBS News, 8 Mar. 2026
  • What makes the usto ply their craft when their own culture moves beyond them?
    — Anna Sherman Maxime Fossat, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2022
  • Meanwhile, her husband flits in and out of town plying his opaque trade.
    — David Sims, The Atlantic, 27 Nov. 2025
  • Fishing vessels that ply the high seas often are away for many months at a time.
    — National Geographic, 25 Nov. 2020
  • For lunch, flag down one of the vendors that ply Zipolite's beach.
    — Kyle A. Valenta, Travel + Leisure, 9 Nov. 2021
  • And each comes with a butler to ply you with refreshing cocktails.
    — Jennifer Kester, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2021
  • In the sea, old enemies are gone, but new grazers ply the meadows.
    — David George Haskell, Big Think, 27 Mar. 2026
  • Every artisan should have the best tools available to ply their trade.
    — Gary Singer, sun-sentinel.com, 19 Nov. 2020
  • These challenges are why solar sails aren't yet plying the vastness of space.
    — Kiona N. Smith, Space.com, 31 May 2026
  • But the grandmother’s solely visual cameo may still ply misty from you.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 6 July 2023
  • Sellers at the meth bazaar in rural western Afghanistan have long been free to ply their trade.
    — Washington Post, 2 May 2022
  • And a van can even be a mobile place of business, the rolling base from which tradesmen and women ply their crafts.
    — The Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 18 May 2021
  • The Fleurieu Arthouse is a great place to watch local artists plying their trade.
    — Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 23 Feb. 2023
  • On the eastern edge of the province, whales ply the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
    — Outside Online, 25 July 2022
  • Irish dance troupes jumped and twisted every few hundred feet while bands armed with drums and bagpipes played plied their trade.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Mar. 2026
  • Off the beach, a group of snorkelers ply the fish-rich waters, while the dinghy that brought them to shore has been returned to the cruise ship.
    — Star Tribune, 16 Apr. 2021
  • The drift boat was conceived to ply its icy waters, and the area is full of history and characters.
    — Andy Nelson, oregonlive, 12 Sep. 2020
  • Puzon’s, on the other hand, was a throwback, a small storefront where a craftsman would ply his trade in plain sight.
    — Paul Eisenberg, chicagotribune.com, 18 Oct. 2020
  • Some New Yorkers who ply the longest subway route say the city feels unmoored.
    — New York Times, 8 Aug. 2022
  • As Levenson makes clear, these three arguments have been plied for as long as vaccines have.
    — Diana Gitig, ArsTechnica, 30 May 2026
  • As Levenson makes clear, these three arguments have been plied for as long as vaccines have.
    — ArsTechnica, 29 May 2026
  • Fortunately no one was walking by just then, but one of the tourist boats that constantly ply the canals had just passed.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 5 June 2021
  • Kids — and even adults — plied me with questions about what happened during those three long days of captivity.
    — Midsi Sanchez, PEOPLE, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Workers in the arts, desperate to ply their craft and earn an income, are ever yearning when asked what next fall could look like.
    — Photographs By Dina Litovsky, Victor Llorente and Daniel Arnold Michael Paulson, Elizabeth A. Harris and Graham Bowley, New York Times, 23 Sep. 2020
  • From there, the Amerongen sailed east, plying colonial trade routes around Java.
    — H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 14 May 2026
  • The multi-brand retailer has been plying this trade for 2,500 years.
    — Maria Halkias, Dallas News, 20 Apr. 2023
  • The rest walk, bicycle or take the electric buses that ply the narrow, cobbled streets of the city’s old quarter.
    — New York Times, 28 Feb. 2021
  • This coincides with nesting season for the birds, which ply their nestlings with a constant diet of protein- and fat-rich larvae.
    — Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2021
  • Of course, Joseph, along with Jesus and his brothers, had to ply some kind of trade six days a week to support the family.
    — Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025
  • The popular longtime minor-league journeyman plied his trade for the Saints last season.
    — Twin Cities, 4 Apr. 2026

ply

2 of 2 noun
  • These use a two-ply polyester cloth and have elastic loops for the ears.
    — Austin Irwin, Car and Driver, 8 Dec. 2020
  • Choose one-ply or soft two-ply toilet paper.
    — Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 Aug. 2025
  • Choose one-ply or soft two-ply toilet paper.
    — Timothy Dale, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Dec. 2025
  • Inside the ball is a high-tech three-ply polyurethane bladder.
    — Popular Mechanics, 1 Feb. 2018
  • Five-ply and copper-core pans cost more, but aren’t that much better.
    — Marni Jameson | Contributing Writer, NOLA.com, 13 Oct. 2020
  • And people are gonna snap 'em up like the last roll of two-ply at Kroger.
    — Mark Phelan, Detroit Free Press, 17 Mar. 2020
  • On top of the inner liner is the carcass ply.
    — Jason Fogelson, AJC.com, 29 May 2026
  • This process twists the wool fibers into a single-ply rope-like structure.
    — Scott Douglas, Outside Online, 14 Aug. 2022
  • And people are gonna snap ’em up like the last roll of two-ply at Walmart.
    — Tribune News Service, cleveland, 28 Mar. 2020
  • Gimmicky marketers use two- or three-ply yarns to double or triple the thread count.
    — Lexie Sachs, Good Housekeeping, 31 May 2022
  • But, frankly, some folks in black and orange came off as double-ply soft in that moment.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
  • For some obsessives, those old-school, thick-ply, blocky hoodies are the holy grail.
    — Jacob Gallagher, WSJ, 31 May 2021
  • In each stall, a long metal bar held a half-dozen rolls of single-ply toilet paper.
    — Scott Craven, azcentral, 24 June 2019
  • These two-ply face masks are made of a cotton-and-elastane shell and a cotton lining.
    — Shari Uyehara, NBC News, 1 Feb. 2021
  • Two-ply yarn means a thread that is made up of two smaller strands that have been twisted together.
    — Lexie Sachs, Good Housekeeping, 31 May 2022
  • The longevity of this treadmill is promising thanks in large part to the thick three-ply running belt.
    — Megan Oster, chicagotribune.com, 10 Apr. 2021
  • The toilet paper is just a fun bonus, but adding on to that, the toilet paper is even two-ply.
    — Alex Harrison, Cincinnati.com, 19 Mar. 2020
  • This stainless steel set of pots and pans is triple-ply and oven-safe up to 450 degrees.
    — Valerie Li Stack, USA TODAY, 14 Oct. 2020
  • Until around 1970, almost all cars and trucks rolled on bias-ply tires.
    — Andy Kessler, WSJ, 4 June 2017
  • The other plies mirth and throws one hell of an unreal supper party.
    — Lisa Kennedy, The Know, 16 Feb. 2017
  • Everyone should be wearing at least a three-ply surgical mask — a cloth mask on top can help with fit.
    — Katia Hetter, CNN, 4 Jan. 2022
  • The ply, or number of threads wrapped together, and fiber choice make a difference, too.
    — Kelley Carter, ELLE Decor, 10 June 2020
  • The ply, or number of threads wrapped together, as well as fiber choice makes a difference, too.
    — Kelley Carter, ELLE Decor, 10 June 2020
  • Those three-ply masks will corral the residual odors of your late-night anchovy-and-onion pizza.
    — Star Tribune, 15 Nov. 2020
  • To make a tire stronger, additional layers of canvas (called plies) were added.
    — Wes Siler, Outside, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Demonstrations will take place on split ply braiding, tablet weaving, wet felting and more.
    — Courant Community, 30 May 2017
  • Three-ply disposable face masks cost as little as $10 for a box of 50.
    — Peter Krouse, cleveland, 12 Nov. 2020
  • Beavers have been known to carry, among other things, lumber, snowmobiles, hot tubs, sheets of ply.
    — Lionel Atwill, Field & Stream, 24 Dec. 2020
  • And a three-ply mask is much more effective in shielding people from infection.
    — Chris Morris, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2022
  • With a large open knit, this breathable throw has a subtle twist pattern that resembles a two-ply cable.
    — Alyssa Gautieri, Good Housekeeping, 4 Oct. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ply.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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