What does prising mean?
Prising means using force, leverage, or a narrow tool to open, move, or separate something that may be tightly fixed in place. A person might prise a lid loose, prise apart two components, or use a screwdriver to prise open a locked case. The word is especially associated with British English, while American speakers generally use prying in these senses. It often suggests persistence and a degree of difficulty, although it does not necessarily imply damage. The expression can also be used figuratively, as when someone prises information or a confession from another person. Prising is a present-participle form of the British verb prise and is normally used either in continuous constructions or as a modifier, though it can also follow a form of the verb in formal writing. Its defining contrast is with praise: to praise someone is to approve of them, whereas to prise something open is to work it loose through leverage.
verbTo open, move, or separate something with difficulty, especially by using leverage. It is a British form of pry.
- To open, move, or separate something with effort, especially by inserting a tool and using leverage.
- To extract or obtain something with difficulty.
"She was prising the old lid open with a screwdriver."
"He carefully prised the box open without damaging the lid."
"She was prising the information out of her reluctant colleague."
One small twist of a screwdriver can let you prise open what looks impossible to move by hand.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does prising come from?
The related verb is chiefly British and is spelled prise, while North American English more commonly uses pry. Prise developed through British usage and is connected etymologically with older forms of prize, ultimately from Old French prise, a form related to prendre, 'to take'. Cognates formed from the same Latin root include comprehend, enterprise and surprise. The present-participle form prising follows the normal inflection of prise.
Related word forms
How prising is actually used
Prising is standard in British English; American English normally uses prying for the same actions. It often implies that considerable force or careful leverage is needed.
Easily confused with prising
Praising means expressing approval, whereas prising means opening or moving something with leverage.
Pricing means assigning or calculating a price, whereas prising means using force or leverage to open or extract something.