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# prise

«prise» in Mova's school dictionary: **To force something open or apart, often by pushing a tool…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

verb (prise, prises, prised, prising; US pry); noun (prise — rare, leverage)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ) To force something open or apart, often by pushing a tool into a gap and levering: «She prised the lid off the tin with a coin.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prise/#m1)

2) To get something out of someone with effort: «I finally prised the secret out of him.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prise/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life and science (levers) you prise open tins and shells; in stories, characters prise open doors or prise out secrets. Phrases: «prise open», «prise off», «prise out of», «prise apart».

### examples

- Dad prised the paint tin open with a screwdriver. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prise/#x1)
- The bird prised the mussel shell apart. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prise/#x2)
- He prised the stone out of his boot. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prise/#x3)
- We prised the truth out of my little brother. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prise/#x4)
- Use a spoon to prise the lid off, not your teeth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prise/#x5)
- The burglars tried to prise the window open. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prise/#x6)

### note

UK spelling is «prise»; American English uses «pry» (pry open). Do not confuse with «prize» (a reward), which sounds the same; the noun «prise» (a grip or lever) is rare. Prising uses the idea of a lever from science lessons.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «prise» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/prise/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.