poly

1 of 3

noun

ˈpä-lē 

plural polys ˈpä-lēz 

often attributive

: a polymerized plastic or something made of this

especially : a polyester fiber, fabric, or garment

poly

2 of 3

adjective

informal : polyamorous

"Everybody up there's poly, you know? … You can love more than one person at a time."

—Donald Harstad

… when you're in a poly relationship, you have to have a higher baseline of communication – you have to deal with problems right away.

—Heather Nicoll

poly-

3 of 3

combining form

1

: many : several : much : multi-

polychotomous

polygyny

2

a

: containing an indefinite number more than one of a (specified) substance

polysulfide

b

: polymeric : polymer of a (specified) monomer

polyethylene

polyadenylic acid

Examples of poly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The essential silhouette is available in nine rich colors of the recycled velvet and five swatches of the upcycled poly. —Lauren Arzbaecher, Architectural Digest, 25 Apr. 2025

It's made from heavy-duty poly with Rain Defender, a durable water repellent. —Nora Colomer, Fox News, 10 Mar. 2025

That technology is the process deployed to split the poly from the cotton. —Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 4 Feb. 2025

The process starts at room temperature, with super-concentrated hydrochloric acid (HCL) to separate the poly from the cotton, enabling fiber-to-fiber recycling of both components. —Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 4 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

short for polymer

Adjective

by shortening

Combining form

borrowed from Greek, combining form of polýs (feminine pollḗ, neuter polý) "large, great (in size), many, much, great (in amount or degree)," going back to Indo-European *pelh₁-u-, *pl̥h₁-u-, a u-stem quantifier meaning "much, many," whence also Germanic *felu- (< *pelh₁-u-) (whence Old English fela, feola "much, a great number, many," Old Frisian felo, fele, Old Saxon & Old High German filu "much, many, to a high degree," Old Icelandic fjǫl- "much, many" [in compounds], Gothic filu), Old Irish il "many, much" (< *pelh₁-u-), Sanskrit purú- "much, many, abundant," Avestan pouru-, Old Persian paru- (all < *pl̥h₁-u-; compare Sanskrit feminine pūrvī́- < *pl̥h₁-u̯ih₂-)

Note: The source of the o in the Greek form, which is not reflected in the other languages, has been the subject of debate. A. Sihler (New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, p. 43) points out that Cowgill's Law (turning o to u in Greek between a labial consonant and a resonant, in either order) should have resulted in *pylýs rather than polýs. G. Kroonen (Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, s.v. *felu-) accounts for the o via a paradigm *pélh₁-us (common gender nominative), *pl̥h₁-u̯-ós (genitive), *pólh₁-u- (neuter nominative), *pl̥h₁-éu̯-s (genitive). The base *pelh₁- is generally regarded as a secondary full grade form of the verbal base *pleh₁- "become full"—see full entry 1.

First Known Use

Noun

1942, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1992, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing poly

• poly I:C
• poly I·poly C
• roly-poly

Rhymes for poly

• colley
• collie
• dolly
• folly
• golly
• holly
• jolley
• jolly
• lolly
• mollie
• molly
• ollie

Kids Definition

poly-

combining form

: many : several

Etymology

Combining form

Middle English poly- "many," from Latin poly- (same meaning), derived from Greek polys "many, several, much"

Medical Definition

poly

noun

ˈpäl-ē 

plural polys -ēz 

: a polymorphonuclear leukocyte