ply

1. A layer of material.

   two-ply toilet paper

2. A strand that, twisted together with other strands, makes up rope or yarn.
3. Short for plywood.
4. In two-player sequential games, a "half-turn" or a move made by one of the players.

   He proposed to build Deep Purple, a super-computer capable of 24-ply look-ahead for chess.

5. A condition, a state.

1. To bend; to fold; to mould; to adapt, to modify; to change (a person's) mind, to cause (a person) to submit.
2. To bend, to flex; to be bent by something, to give way or yield (to a force, etc.).

noun

A bent; a direction.

1. To work at (something) diligently.

   He plied his trade as carpenter for forty-three years.

2. To wield or use (a tool, a weapon, etc.) steadily or vigorously.

   He plied his ax with bloody results.

3. To press upon; to urge persistently.

   to ply someone with questions or solicitations

4. To persist in offering something to, especially for the purpose of inducement or persuasion.

   to ply someone with drink

5. To travel over (a route) regularly.

   The steamer plies between several ports on the coast.

6. To work diligently.
7. To manoeuvre a sailing vessel so that the direction of the wind changes from one side of the vessel to the other; to work to windward, to beat, to tack.