pry

pry [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' (14-20 centuries), from Old French prise 'act of seizing']

1.)

to try to find out details about someone else's private life in an impolite way

▪ I don't want to pry , but I need to ask you one or two questions.

pry into

▪ reporters prying into the affairs of celebrities

2.) [T always + adverb/preposition] [i]especially AmE to force something open, or force it away from something else

British Equivalent: prizepry sth open/away/off etc

▪ We finally managed to pry the door open with a screwdriver.

3.) away from prying eyes

in private, where people cannot see what you are doing

pry out of / [pry sth out of sb/sth] phr v

to get money or information from someone with a lot of difficulty

▪ If you want to know his name, you have to pry it out of her.