fry
fry
Pronunciation
fry /fraɪ/
frai: /f/ (voiceless labiodental fricative), /r/ (voiced alveolar approximant), /aɪ/ (diphthong as in "my")
Word Form Variations
Verb:
Base form: fry
Third-person singular present: fries
Present participle: frying
Past simple: fried
Past participle: fried
Noun:
Singular: fry
Plural: fries (referring to potato fries) or fry (referring to young fish)
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Verb
To cook food in hot fat or oil.
Synonyms: sauté, pan-fry, deep-fry, griddle
Antonyms: boil, steam, bake, roast
To suffer damage or destruction, especially electrical damage, due to excessive heat or current.
Synonyms: burn out, short-circuit, overheat, melt
Antonyms: repair, fix, cool, function
Noun
A dish of food that has been cooked by frying, especially a small piece of fried food.
Synonyms: fritter, croquette, pat
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms, as it refers to a specific cooking method)
A young fish, especially a newly hatched one.
Synonyms: fingerling, juvenile fish, hatchling
Antonyms: adult fish, mature fish
Examples of Use
Books:
"He watched his mother fry eggs for breakfast, the sizzle a comforting sound in the quiet kitchen." (From a contemporary novel exploring domestic life)
"The old electrician warned that connecting too many appliances could fry the entire circuit." (From a non-fiction book on home maintenance)
Newspapers:
"Local restaurants are experimenting with new techniques to perfectly fry their popular sweet potato chips." (Daily Nation, March 2024)
"The intense heatwave is expected to fry crops across the region, leading to concerns about food security." (The Standard, July 2025)
Online Publications:
"How to Fry Chicken to Crispy Perfection: A Step-by-Step Guide" (Bon Appétit, June 2024)
"Tech experts caution that unsupported software updates can sometimes fry older smartphones." (TechCrunch, April 2025)
Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:
Television Show: "Don't fry your brain trying to solve that puzzle, take a break!" (Dialogue from a popular sitcom)
Film: (A character in a suspense film after an explosion) "My computer's completely fried!"
Song Lyrics: "We're just a couple of small fry in a big, big sea." (From an indie folk song)
Video Game: (In-game tutorial text) "Use the 'Incinerate' spell to fry your enemies."
General Public Discourse:
"I'm going to fry some fish for dinner tonight, caught them fresh this morning." (Casual conversation between friends)
"Be careful not to leave your laptop in direct sunlight, you'll fry the battery." (Advice given to a colleague)
"The professor's intense lecture really made my brain fry." (Student discussing a difficult class)
"Look at all these little fry swimming near the shore!" (Parent pointing out young fish to a child at the beach)
10 Quotes Using Fry
"Don't fry your brain trying to remember everything; focus on understanding."
"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, or learn to fry an egg."
"He who is afraid to fry an egg will never learn to cook."
"Some days, you just want to fry your troubles away with a good meal."
"Opportunity doesn't knock; it's often disguised as something you have to fry."
"Success is like a good fry – it takes the right ingredients and careful timing."
"Don't fry the messenger, even if the news is burnt."
"When life gives you potatoes, learn to fry them perfectly."
"The best way to fry worries is to focus on what you can control."
"If at first you don't succeed, maybe you just need to fry it differently."
Etymology
The word "fry" comes to us from Old French, where it was "frire," meaning "to fry." This French word, in turn, has its roots in the Latin word "frigere," which also meant "to fry" or "to roast."
So, the basic idea of cooking something in hot fat or oil has been around for a very long time, and the word for it has followed a pretty direct path through different languages.
The first known use of "fry" in English, with the meaning of cooking food in hot fat, dates back to the early 14th century. At that time, it was used to describe this specific cooking method, much like we use it today.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Fry
Small fry: Refers to people or things considered unimportant or insignificant.
To have bigger fish to fry: To have more important things to do.
To fry someone's brain/mind: To exhaust or overwork someone mentally.
To fry an egg: A simple task, often used to illustrate basic cooking ability.
To deep fry an idea: To thoroughly explore or develop an idea.
To pan-fry a problem: To deal with a problem directly and in a limited scope.
To sizzle and fry: To be very hot, especially weather.
To be in a real fry: To be in a difficult or hot situation.
Not a fry left in the basket: Everything is gone or used up.
To fry the system: To cause a computer or electrical system to fail due to overload.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of fry from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
