plies

Noun (1)

ply (countable and uncountable, plural ply or plies or plys)

1. A layer of material.
   • two-ply toilet paper
2. A strand that, twisted together with other strands, makes up rope or yarn.
   • To make the hail rod a rope of straw is the first thing necessary; it must be made of ripe wheat straw, soaked and twisted, plaited with three strand and then with four ply, making twelve strand to the rope.1837 August, “Art I. Protection against Hail Storms. Notice and Description of the Paragrèle, or Hail Rod. By A. J. Downing, Botanic Garden and Nurseries, Newbergh, N.Y.”, in C. M. Hovey, editor, The...
3. (artificial intelligence, combinatorial game theory) 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.
4. (Scotland) A condition, a state.
   • You may be ſure, in the ply I was now taking, I had no objection to the propoſal, and was rather a tiptoe for its accompliſhment.1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC...

Noun (2)

ply

1. A bent; a direction.

See all 14 meanings of ply